Train Me!
by honeysuckelvine
Summary: Set after the half of the Chunnin exam, Naruto begs for training from Kakashi but is denied! He is not very happy about it!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Train Me!

Pairing: Kaka/Naru

Rating: PG13

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Naruto!

Summery: Before the final phase of the Chuunin exams, Naruto begs Kakashi for extra training and is denied! Naruto doesn't take it very well.

lj-cut text"Train Me!" 

"What?"

I stood before my silver haired teacher in shock and pain. I always knew that he liked Sasuke best but I never would have believed that he was capable of the same bigotry as the rest of the village.

"You won't train me for the Chuunin exam, the most important moment of my young life? Exams that will greatly determine my future, because Sasuke needs you and I supposedly don't?" I was breathing hard with the effort to control my raging emotions.

Kakashi sighed as he subtly checked the time and reopened his book. It was clear that he didn't care. I was wasting his and the Uchiha's precious time. "I have selected another teacher that will be much better suited to you and your needs Naruto. Don't be so immature."

The flash of red that streaked through my eyes, if he had bothered to pay attention to me might have surprised him. "Just who is this supposed better teacher'? I growled.

Kakashi raised his eyebrow but never lifted his eyes from the dirty little book in his hands. "Ebisu."

Even with his head in his book, Kakashi could not help but notice the quick flaring of demonic chakra coming from his student this time. His head snapped up and his eye narrowed. "Naruto!" He barked at me. "Control yourself! You are a ninja and not a little boy any longer. You can't always have what you want in life and you must learn that now."

Kakashi may have thought that I was listening to his orders, but he would be surprised to learn differently. I had reeled in my emotions on my own before he spoke. He was not worth the loss of control if this was the way he was going to treat me.

"If you really do side with the village, and hate me for something that I have no control over, then I pity you sensei." I bit out.

His book fell from his hand with a clatter on the floor but I didn't care what that might mean. "The only reason why I wanted you to teach me in the first place, was because I felt that you, unlike the rest of the ninja hear, actually would teach me with my best interest at heart. If you are willing to pawn me off on a teacher who hated me and has admitted to believing me to be the demon, then I no longer want any thing to do with you."

I started down the hall only to stop as he called my name. I heeded the call but refused to turn around. I did not want to see the proof that the man I admired hated me to.

"Since when have I ever gotten anything I ever I wanted Sensei?" I called out. My question was answered with silence. "As far back as I can remember I have only ever wanted a few things in my life. A store to sell me groceries that aren't expired, a safe place where they can't hurt me as I sleep, a fair chance to show them all who I really am, and the luxury of trusting in some one without having that trust thrown back in my face."

The longer I stayed there, the more things I would say that I shouldn't. On their own my feet began to move again. I could not help but send back one final thought. "One day, I hope to get what I want, but it obviously won't be today."

I escaped the familiar glares on the street by hopping up on the roofs of the village. Thankfully, I made it to my home before the tears could start.

I was so sure! I had thought that I had finally been accepted by someone and it blew up in my face.' I fumed to myself. That ignorant, hypocritical, …' "Naruto!"

I about jumped out of my skin when his voice boomed behind me. I spun on my heel to find that he must have followed me and come in through the window. "What did you mean about not having any one to trust?" he demanded.

What the hell!' I couldn't understand why he had followed me all the way here, just to ask that rather then one of the other thousand better questions that must be running through his mind.

"Exactly as I said, I have never trusted anyone who didn't kill that trust in the end." I plopped down tiredly on my bed that doubled as my couch in the day. I needed to escape this conversation and the only way out that I could see was to assume the fetal position in the corner of said couch/bed.

I felt the mattress dip as Kakashi added his weight to the worn out springs. "What about the rest of your team or the Hokage and Iruka, or even the people at your ramen store?"

I could hear the amusement in his voice. I understood what he was trying to do. The fool thought that I was just being melodramatic.

"My so called team have never said a kind word to me and it is hard to trust someone who talks to you in insults. The ramen people are kind but they have looked the other way before when people treated me bad. The Hokage watches me all the time in that crystal ball of his but also looks the other way when the villagers are hurting me. Iruka-Sensei managed to gain my trust once, but lost it when he as he forgot all about me on holidays and my birthday. I am important to him but only when he doesn't have anything better going on."

I took the chance to peek at my silver haired teacher. Hs expression was as always, to hard to decipher with the mask in place. "I was wrong Naruto."

His quiet whisper through me for a loop! The all mighty Kakashi was apologizing to me! I was flabbergasted.

"I am so sorry for my thoughtlessness. The truth is that I lied to you." He must have caught confused expression as he held up a hand for silence before I could so much as breathe. "I was not honest with you about by reasons for not training you and I am sorry that I hurt you. I was really trying to not hurt you." He said with a bit of irony.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I demanded.

"You deserve the truth no matter how much I don't want to explain it." He took a deep breath to calm himself and I wondered what could possibly have the stoic man so worked up.

"I don't want to let anyone else teach you at all. I don't want to go off with Sasuke and not you. I made this decision because I realized something very wrong about myself while you all were in the examination. "

"You are making absolutely no sense!" I loudly complained.

"While the three of you where in so much danger, I found myself only worrying about one of my students. The worse things got in the forest, the more I worried to the point that I only wanted that one student back, even if it was at the expense of the others."

I knew it' I thought. He really dose only care for the Uchiha.'

"When it was all over, and Sasuke had been hurt by that jerk, all I could think was that it was my fault for not caring if he came back."

My head whipped around so fast that a tendon in my neck popped painfully. My hand clutched the throbbing spot and I peered at Kakashi through teary eyes. "What?!"

Kakashi breathed in and out very deeply. "I felt so guilty for my shameful thoughts. A teacher should never care so much for a student but I just can't help myself. I need to put distance between us until I can control these feelings that I have for you Naruto."

I stared at him a moment with indecision. Finally, I made a choice; I slapped him hard across the face. "How dare you come into my home and make fun of me in such a way! Did you really thing that by lying to me and laughing at me like this that you could get off the hook for deserting me and my training?"

Kakashi's jaw dropped and his eye widened. "I am not lying Naruto! I would never disrespect you by playing with your feelings like that. I just wanted to protect you from my inappropriate behavior."

I leaned back to study him for any proof for, or against his declaration. "Prove it then." I demanded.

"How?" asked Kakashi.

I pondered my next move carefully. I reached out with a shaking hand to brush my fingertips along the seam where his mask met his cheek.

As I stroked the smooth skin, Kakashi closed his eye and leaned into the touch. I gently slid my finger under the fabric and peeled it slowly down his face and neck. His face was beautiful. A smooth square jaw and full moist lips under a strong, straight nose made up a

masculine yet gentle profile.

I swallowed hard before the final test. I leaned into the warmth of his body and pressed my lips to his. He froze up momentarily before melting into the kiss with a groan. Arms wrapped around me lovingly and he tilted his head for a better fit.

I felt him open his mouth and his lower lip guided mine down as well. A warm, wet appendage infiltrated my mouth. His tongue swept throughout my mouth possessively. He caressed my tongue with his and pulled a moan from my throat.

I was so distracted that the skin on skin contact did not register in my mind at first. When

I did finally notice, Kakashi had one arm under my shirt hem with the hand up on the base of my neck. His other hand was gliding up and down my side.

We parted for air and discovered that he had laid me down under him and that my legs where wrapped around his. My hands had mysteriously found the small of his back and his left butt cheek.

We stared into each other's eyes for a time in dumbfounded silence. "I shouldn't be doing this!" He groaned and then disappeared.

I lay in that same spot for hours.

I couldn't wrap my head around not only what had happened but also my reaction to it. I thought back over the way that Kakashi had always taken care of me on and off missions.

He would bring me food and bandage my wounds. He was always there when my other teammates failed to notice that I needed help. He truly was the only person that I could fully trust.

As the first rays of sunlight stretched over my floor the next morning, I completed my ultimate plan. First, find a good teacher to help me succeed in the exam. Second, do everything in my power to seduce Hatake Kakashi. And third, become the greatest Hokage ever!

/lj-cut 


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Train Me!  
Chapter: Two  
Pairing: Kaka/Naru  
Rating: PG13  
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Naruto!  
Summery: Before the final phase of the Chuunin exams, Naruto begs Kakashi for extra training and is denied! Naruto doesn't take it very well.

"Splat… Splat!… Splat…. Splat!"

'Come on Naruto! Concentrate! Your big toe sank in a little and that is not acceptable!' I yelled at my self.

I had just experienced the strangest day of my life and was now in the process of training.

My day had been horribly straining. First I had to meet up with Ebisu. I knew that he wasn't a good choice but I felt that if Kakashi had chosen him then there must be a reason.

However, the decision to give him a shot didn't mean that I wasn't gonna test him out first. No way was I going to listen to someone who not only didn't respect me but who also had lost to me once already.

Oh sure, my Sexy Jutsu was kinda cheating but he so fell for it!

I shouted a bunch of crap about him being weak till he finally gave in and let me test him. I had to try to run away and he had to try to catch me. I used every trick I had from my pranking days.

He will never know it but I let him catch me every time. I may not be the smartest guy in the world but I am the king of pranks and getting away after. I had, after all, evaded the Anbu after painting the Hokage Mountain.

I just wanted to see how he would treat me when he caught me or if he would use this as an excuse to get out of training me. The fact that he gave it his all was enough to give him a chance.

He was right about my needing to improve my chakra control, but he didn't really get the chance to help at all.

The closet pervert had the nerve to yell at the open pervert for peeking at women.They had a fight and Ebisu got knocked out!

I had to waist a lot more time convincing this new idiot to train me. He finally gave in to my charm after being harassed for several hours.

I still don't know what he did to my seal but it hurt like hell! Whatever he did to me, it worked. I ran out onto the water like a pro.

The lazy old guy called it quits for the night when the girls he was watching left. I walked back with him but after we parted, I headed strait back to the river to practice. I figured that if I could make chakra control second nature, then I would be that much better off.

I tried juggling logs and running laps at first to teach myself to push it to the back of my mind. Then I started practicing jutsu and tumbling.

"Splash!"

Unfortunately, concentrated chakra on your feet isn't much help with a somersault.

I realized a little too late that if I want to touch the water with other parts of my body, I have to use chakra on them as well.

That was very hard. I used up the rest of my chakra reserves working on tumbling, until the sun went down.

Let me tell you now, there are just some positions that you were not meant to fall into water in. For example, when you are doing a handstand and loose your concentration, the water enters your nose so fast that either your eyes will be forcibly evicted or your nose will peal back to kiss your hairline.

Either way, you will cry… a lot!

You are under water though so no one has to know.I used the last of my strength to crawl back to my apartment and die, uh… I mean fall on my bed and go to sleep.

As tired as I was, I still could not help but wonder where Kakashi and Sasuke were and if my Sensei missed me at all.

I was determined to get strong enough to not only pass the exam, but to make Kakashi impressed and proud!

KAKASHI

The next day, I jumped out of my bed with renewed energy and vigor!

……

OK, So maybe it was more like rolled out of bed with a groan and a prayer.

I did manage to cook my ramen without burning myself once and only took one sip of the milk before I realized it was going sour.

By the time I was ready to go, my usual hyper activity had returned. I am not a morning person but when I finally to wake up, I become the energizer bunny.

I met up with the pervert who shall forever be known as Ero-sennin from now on.

I don't need to tell you much about that boring day. Nothing important happened at all. I just made a fool of myself for hours, then was forced to do a lot of stupid stuff.

He acted like this was my last day to live, he made me eat at Ichiraku's, and told me to hug the girl of my dreams. I couldn't exactly tell him that it was more like boy of my dreams and that I didn't know where he was, so I faked it with Sakura and got a punch to the face for my troubles.

Then the old fool takes me to a high cliff and pushed me off!

That bastard actually shoved me into a deep ravine!

After nearly crapping myself, I suddenly found myself in a damp sewer.

'What the hell?" I thought.

I walked down the corridor till I came across this huge prison cell with a small scrap of paper on it.

'Holy fucking shit!' was about the only intelligent thought in my head as THE KYUUBI approached the bars.

"Kid, come closer" he demanded.

Hesitantly, I inched forward. A massive claw thrashed through the bars at me as I fell back.

\"I want to devour you, but this gate will not open." The deep voice rumbled. "It is a detestable seal."

I was so afraid that my pounding heart was making my feet hurt with the pressure from the force of my blood circulation.

"Your…" I whimpered "the Kyuubi."

"You came to me this time." He responded. "Why did you come here?"

I took a deep breath and swallowed my fear. I would not show fear to any one, not even him. "Hey, you dumb fox! Since you're staying in my body, give me your chakra as rent!"

His evil laugh gave me shivers of the bad variety. "You are saying that if you die, I'm going to die as well? You have guts, blackmailing me like that." A pool of red chakra surrounded me in a strangling grip.

"Very well. It's a reward for coming all the way here. I'll give it to you."All at once, I was back in the ravine yet no longer afraid.

I knew what I had to do to survive. I bit my thumb hard and formed the seal that the pervert had shown me. I prayed with all of my might that this time I would summon the biggest frog of them all and not some stupid tadpole.

Oh ya, I forgot that I had glossed over that part.

The part about making a fool of myself was referring to my inability to summon a decent frog.

You can't blame a guy for trying to omit such an embarrassing display now can ya?

Anyway, I tried with all of my might and found myself sitting on the head of a frog bigger than the ninja academy!

"Where the hell am I?" He grumbled.

He was the Frog Boss Gamabunta, and he was very pissed at me.We had a long battle of wills for the rest of the day, which landed me in the hospital due to chakra exhaustion.

I think that I won a small bit of respect from him and that is all that I can truly want from anyone.

I spent the rest of the month training my ass off . I knew that the next time that I could see Kakashi would be at the exam and I was bound and determined that he would be impressed.

After all of that work and worrying, can you imagine my disappointment when they showed up to late to see me compete?

I had given it my all to beat that stuck up snob Neji and the only person that I wanted to be in the audience, wasn't there.

It shouldn't have hurt near as much as it did.

When he finally did appear, it was with a flash swirl of leaves and as much flare as they could get away with without seaming any less cool.

I wanted nothing more then to go down there and beat the tar out of both of them. I wanted to wring their necks and bash there heads together.

I also wanted to hug them tight in gratitude that they made it in time and where both safe and sound.

I wish that I could have stayed relived for a lot longer though. On the way back into the stands, Shikamaru and I saw the sand bastard kill two men in cold blood. What made it worse, was the fact that they appeared to be Jounin.

I watched the match and realized that Gaara would not rest until his prey was dead.

If he followed Lee to the hospital to finish him off, then he would certainly do everything in his power to kill Sasuke.

I rushed to Kakashi with my concerns and in front of every one, he told me not to worry.

He had more faith in Sasuke's abilities then in my word that this was a bad idea.

For the moment, my worry over Sasuke would override my hurt from Kakashi.

Later however, the silver haired fool might have some trust to rebuild.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Train Me!  
Chapter: Three  
Rating: Pg 13 light cursing  
Pairing: Naru/Kaka  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… I just drool over him!  
Summery: Before the final phase of the Chuunin exams, Naruto begs Kakashi for extra training and is denied! Naruto doesn't take it very well.

Even today, I am still not sure just how my teammates and I found ourselves so far from the village and so deep in trouble. One minute, I was worried about Sasuke and mad at Kakashi. The next instant, I was waking up on the ground from a jutsu. 

Sakura and I where racing off as quick as a wink to find our idiot teammate, who had chased into the forest after Gaara.

It all happened so fast. Sasuke talked big and Sakura got pinned to a tree. The only way to help my team was to fight him myself.

I was petrified. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that my anger was greater then my fear.

As we fought, my teammates were left behind to watch from a distance. I did everything in my power to keep the damage away form them so that they wouldn't get hurt. It was not an easy task seeing how Gaara had morphed into a giant beast! One swipe of the arm would level a stand of trees. 

I was forced to bring out the Frog Boss again…. Ok, so first I brought out his son, who I then had to save, but after that I brought out the Frog Boss Gamabunta.

He wasn't too helpful at first. He was even a little mad that I had called on him. The only reason that he helped me in the end was because his son stood up for me he claimed that he had come out for a stroll when Gaara picked on him and that I had saved him.

I wasn't going to argue if it got me help!

We fought very hard. Both of us were using up massive amounts of chakra. We literally destroyed the surrounding forest.

During the course of the fight, I learned just why this boy was so blood thirsty. He was just like me. He had a demon within him that wasn't even properly sealed. He had even been treated worse then I had. I always thought that if I had parents, then it wouldn't be as bad growing up.

Gaara's story proved me wrong. The only thing worse then no parents, was to have a father trying to kill you at every opportunity. He spent his life, being told that the only reason for his existence was to kill. How can he possibly be blamed for believing it?

The fight became less and less about helping my friends and more about saving Gaara's soul. Gaara was a creature that I could so easily become and that scared me spitless.

If I could save him, then my chances of resisting that path would become that much better.

I beat him, but I didn't know if I had gotten through to him. I passed out before his siblings took him away and Sasuke came for me.

I woke up later that day in the hospital. I hurt from head to toe; everything ached. The worst pain didn't come from my chakra exhaustion however. The worst of my pain came from my heart.

Coming back to haunt me, was the words that I had spewed out with so much passion earlier.

I dared to berate Gaara for not forming bonds with others when I had been given chance after chance to get closer to Iruka yet always shied away with the claim that I couldn't trust him.

I said that he ignored me on my birthday, but I am the one who disappears on that day to get away from the villagers. I claimed that he forgot me on other important days, but it was me who avoided him due to the fear of rejection.

It was my own fault that I was alone. I had a true friend just waiting for me to stop pushing him away and all I had to do was hold out my hand.

Removing the bandages and medical equipment was old hat to me, as was slipping out my window.

A glance toward the front door revealed Kakashi looking up at me. He raised a hand in greeting but I had more important things on my mind then dealing with him at the moment.

I dashed across the rooftops in a strait line for the academy. I had put off this conversation for so long that it would not be fair to delay it any longer then necessary.

I found my old teacher cleaning up remnants of the battle in the yard, just like I knew I would. He was so wrapped up in his task and thoughts that he didn't notice me for a while.

When he did, I found myself on my back with him on my chest.

"Naruto! Are you all right? How are you? I heard that you had been hurt!" He stopped hugging me long enough to get back up and began to shake me gently. "You should still be in the hospital young man! I am going to take you back there right now!"

He grabbed my arm and started to pull but I remained firm. "I had to talk to you." I whispered solemnly.

Having never heard such a tone from me before, it caught his immediate attention. He dropped my arm and stepped back to look at me. I kept my face shadowed by my bangs because I knew that if he could see my eyes, then I wouldn't be able to do this.

I took a deep breath and began. "When I first started at the academy, my teachers hated me." He started to protest but my upheld hand silenced him. "Let me say this." I pleaded.

"Go on." He murmured.

"When I started at this school, my teachers hated me. The other student's barely tolerated me. I was never taught anything of any value and always tested above my knowledge level."

I had to pause for breath. This was harder then I had thought it would be. "By the time a teacher who cared came along, I no longer trusted that any one would ever teach me. I kept waiting for the nice man to turn mean." I cleared my throat of the ache that warns you of future tears.

"The more he seemed to care, the more I became afraid of him. I thought that when he finally showed his true colors, he would be the worst of them all because he had started out so nice." I could hear Iruka breathing hard and forced myself to continue.

"When I graduated and Mizuki-Sensei tricked me, my kind teacher came to help me. He saved my life and filled me with hope. Not even the horrible secret that bastard told me, could dampen the joy in my heart from the knowledge that someone cared about me."

Iruka tried to reach out to me but I jumped back. I had to finish this first. "The next day, I got scared again. I couldn't let myself become close because of the fear of how much it would hurt to be betrayed. It wasn't fair to you and I am so sorry for keeping you at a distance Iruka-Nissan! I never meant to hurt you and I…"

Tears where pouring down my face and my voice failed me while two arms wrapped around me tight. Iruka cried into my shoulder as I held onto him for dear life. This was my first real hug and I was determined to absorb every second of it.

"I am so sorry!" I sobbed.

"No, you have nothing to be sorry for! I always understood Naruto. You are so very dear to me that it never hurt. I only ever wanted you to be happy and I was always glad for any affection that you showed me because I knew that it was real."

I don't know how long we stood there but I do know that a silver haired Jounin watched us from the roof the whole time. I didn't even care what he might have thought about all of this.

For once, he had nothing to do with what was going on and I could deal with him later. This was a moment only for my Iruka-Nissan and no one else!

At least it was supposed to be all about Iruka.

"What a cozy little scene this is." If you didn't know him as well as I do, you would never have detected the sarcasm in Kakashi's voice.

"Oh! Hello Kakashi-Sensei. What brings you here?" Inquired Iruka. He attempted to hide the evidence of tears on his face but failed miserably. I didn't even try.

Kakashi's single eyebrow rose in surprise at the sight, "What's wrong?" he asked more seriously.

"Nothing is wrong any more Kakashi-Sensei. I was just having a talk with my big brother here that was long over due."

My words threw the softhearted Chunnen into a fresh torrent of tears, which he tried to hide in the very manly form of ducking behind me.

Kakashi's jaw dropped under his mask. "Are you sure that everything is really all right?"

"Yes." I smile sadly. "Everything is wonderful between Iruka and I."

The flash of emotion in his eye was enough to tell me that he caught my underlying message. He stretched his hand out to me as though to touch my cheek but was stopped by the flying tackle I received from a Medic-Nin.

"What the Hell?" I screamed.

"Uzumaki-San! We have been looking everywhere for you. You must return to the hospital until a doctor checks you out." She lectured me, as I was drug away.

"Iruka-Sensei, help me!" I cried.

"Oh no. You have to take care of yourself Naruto." He ordered me. "If you have to, you might want to tie him down and maybe even sedate him. That was the only way that I could ever keep him in his seat for my lectures." He called out grinning.

"IRUKA-SENSEI!"

"I will come and visit you later!" was his happy reply.

'I TELL YOU THAT I TRUST YOU AND YOU INSTANTLY SELL ME OUT!" I screamed back at him.

"Yep!" Iruka called back. Then he addressed the Medic-Nin that had surrounded me, "If you don't take very good care of my little brother there, I will hunt you down and make you suffer," he promised.

With that promise hanging in the air, my struggles stopped. I could deal with just about anything when I felt that good.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Train Me!  
Chapter: Four  
Rating: Pg 13 light cursing  
Pairing: Naru/Kaka  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… I just drool over him!  
Summery: Before the final phase of the Chuunin exams, Naruto begs Kakashi for extra training and is denied! Naruto doesn't take it very well.

Those lousy medics took Iruka's advice and sedated me. They used enough of the damn

drug to lay up an elephant for a week. I was out for five hours! 

When the world began to come back into focus, something struck me as not right. I am

used to waking up in an all white room filled with the smell of antiseptic. I am not used to

my hand being encased within something warm and a strange rubbing feeling on the back

of said hand.

My bleary eyes turned to concentrate on the silver and blue blob by my bed. Kakashi was

holding my hand and stroking the back. He looked upset about something.

"Kakashi?" I whispered.

He dropped my hand like a hot potato and leaped away from me. We stared into each

other's eyes for a long time in uncertainty. Finally, he inched toward my bedside. He had

almost reached my side when his ninja senses perked up alerting him to an approaching

person.

When the nurse finally opened my door, all she found was me.

The next day, I met my team to go to the funeral of the Third Hokage. It tore me up

inside to learn that the closest thing I had to family had died before I could tell him what

he meant to me.

It was all I could do not to burst into tears along with Konohamaru. I wanted so much to

be able to comfort him but the task fell to Iruka-Sensei. I couldn't get any words past the

lump in my throat. 

Kakashi's hand discreetly rested on the small of my back. His comforting touch helped to keep my emotions in check. I leaned back into the touch for extra support before stepping forward to pay my respects. 

The crowd wandered off slowly. They all had busy lives to return to that they couldn't leave on hold any longer for a Hokage who had passed. Even Kakashi and Iruka had other duties to attend to. They had better things to do then spend the day with a demon carrier and a winy little boy. 

That had always been the position of the old man that I would never see again. I don't know how long Konohamaru and I stood there. I only know that it was dark when I finally carried the sleeping boy to his home. 

I never spoke to him that day, but I don't think that I needed to. There is a simple comfort found in the silent company of a person who completely understands your pain. 

I spent the next few days training my hardest and helping to rebuild. I wanted to do my part in making Konoha strong. Every morning, I would make a dozen clones to help rebuild the village and then go off to train. 

Living alone all these years had made me an expert at fixing broken things. A few of the clones where popped by suspicious villagers, but I just made new ones till they stopped popping. I would not even let the villagers keep me from helping them. 

I was all set to beg Kakashi for more training when Jiraiya came along with an offer. He kind of tricked me into going on a mission to find some woman. I knew what he was doing but I couldn't pass up the chance at learning a new jutsu. 

I also wanted to get away from my team for a while. Kakashi was so nervous around me lately that I wanted to give him a break. Sakura was getting on my nerves with her whole 'Sasuke is so perfect and Naruto is so stupid' thing. And Sasuke was acting weirder then usual. 

The harder I work to improve, the angrier he gets. It is like he thinks that he is the only one worthy of improvement. He had everything handed to him on a silver platter and begrudges me my improvement that I had to fight hard for. If he put forth half of the effort that I do, then he would no doubt be as strong as his brother in no time. 

The pervert and I had a nice leisurely walk to the logging village near by. He claimed that he would be able to get information on this woman's whereabouts here. Personally, I think that he just wanted to visit the adult only places and spend my money. 

We had barely checked in when he took off with some chick and made me wait in the room. A long time passed before a knock was heard on the door. I went to let him in only to discover the scariest pair of eyes that I had ever seen. It was the fully developed Sharingan eyes of Itachi that burned into me. 

I tried to slam the door but was unsuccessful. Jiraiya and Sasuke, of all people, both came to save me. Sasuke acted like a spoiled little brat and repeatedly charged at his brother. It was like watching a gnat attack a lion. 

Sasuke was so wrapped up in his desire to get revenge that he left his brain behind. The man killed the strongest clan Konoha single-handedly. He had murdered seasoned shinobi with little to no effort. 

How can Sasuke actually think that a child could possibly stand up to him with such weak skills and such little training? It will take him years to reach the level where he can be even a challenge for his brother. 

I want to be Hokage; but I at least know that there are many steps to climb first before I can even come close to my dream. 

In the end, Sasuke was mentally damaged to the point of becoming catatonic. Jiraiya had to save us but the bastards got away. 

Gai came along and informed us that Kakashi had suffered the same fate as Sasuke. My first instinct was to race back to his side. Then my brain decided to kick in for a change. If I went back to the village, then I would be leading the enemy right back to the place and people that I want to protect. 

I had heard Jiraiya talking to them. The two powerful ninja were after the damn Fox that lived within me. For the time being, I would now have a huge target on my back. I can't go back till I get strong enough to at least attempt o protect myself. 

Jiraiya told Gai-Sensei that the woman that we where searching for was an amazing medic-nin who could help our injured friends. That news settled my mind. I was determined to learn this hard jutsu of his and find the woman so that I could return. 

Let me tell you now, I have a habit of giving myself impossible tasks and then making myself accomplish them. The jutsu that he taught me was incredibly hard to do. It took me three weeks to learn the first two steps and the third step was going to be much harder. 

I felt doomed but I refused to give up. I put everything that I have into everything that I do and this would not be the exception. 

When we finally found the big-chested blond, I figured that maybe Jiraiya was not completely honest about his reasons for searching for her. I was proven right but not in the way that I had assumed. 

He never told me that the reason why we were looking for her to begin with was to make her the new Hokage. I couldn't believe my ears. They were already replacing the old man and it didn't feel right at all. 

I was just starting to come to terms with it when the idiot refused the position and made fun of the Hokages. I was not going to stand for it. Bad enough for her to turn down the job but insulting the Third and the Fourth was unacceptable 

I completely lost my temper and found myself outside fighting her. All she used was one finger to fight me with and I lost horribly. Then she began to mouth off again about how I would never learn the Rasengan, the jutsu I had been working on, and that I would never become Hokage. 

She bet me that I could not learn the final part in one week. If I won, then she would acknowledge that I would one day be Hokage and would even give me her necklace. 

Her assistant Shizune, later explained to me about how Tsunade's precious people had all died the day after getting that necklace. Hearing about the blond woman's sadness made me want to give her hope again and to prove that it was not her fault, to prove to her that the necklace would not really kill because I would wear it proudly and live on for a long time. 

I trained till I passed out and then woke up to do it again. I spent my week training harder than I had ever trained before. I pushed myself to the limit and beyond. 

At the end of the week, I was becoming desperate. I had to win the bet. I would not allow myself to lose such an important bet. 

In a way, I kinda have Orochimaru to thank for my mastery of the technique on the last day. I was forced to use it to protect Tsunade when the snake bastard attacked us. I don't remember much of the battle, as I was unconscious for most of it. 

All that I really know is that I won the bet and convinced Tsunade to become the Fifth. 

I still can't believe that I did it. For once in my life, I accomplished my goals. I learned the Rasengan and found the doctor. I allowed myself a day for recovery and then dragged them all back home to help my loved ones. 

She kept putting it off and stalling but I was having none of that. I would not let them suffer any longer than they had to. First she attended Sasuke. Sakura was there but never really noticed me. 

Next, she went to Kakashi. I made an excuse so that I could stay with Kakashi-Sensei while they all moved on to Lee. 

The quiet click of the door left us all alone in the room. I pressed my back to the door in an effort to keep my distance. "How are you?" I whispered. 

He removed his mask and leaned back in his pillows. A gentile smile was his answer. 

I started to speak but fell silent again. Finally gathering my courage, "I have been thinking about our discussion for a long time know." Even though it had been months, he knew that I was referring to the time he was in my room. 

"I realized a while back that …. I love you too." Kakashi's silver head shot up in a panic. I held my hand up for silence. 

"I had thought to seduce you, but realized that it would be a bad idea." Kakashi appeared relived yet wary. "I plan on being with you for the rest of my life, so I guess that I can wait to start thing until you can be with me without the guilt." 

His mouth hung open wide. "I have decided to become Jiraiya's new pupil. He will be doing his research hear in town for the next month or two but then we will be leaving the village for several years." Kakashi looked incredibly saddened by the information that I would no longer be on his team or even in the village. 

"When I come back, I hope that you will still want me." The injured man made a strange noise of protest. "I will not blame you if I come back to find you with someone else. However, if you do still want me at that time, then I will be yours." 

I approached him slowly and leaned down over him, " If you deny me at that time, then you will lose me forever Kakashi-koi." I punctuated my sentence by kissing him tenderly. I caressed his beloved face one time and left. I didn't trust ether of us to show any restraint.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Train Me!  
Chapter: Five  
Rating: Pg 13 light cursing  
Pairing: Naru/Kaka  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… I just drool over him!  
Summery: Before the final phase of the Chuunin exams, Naruto begs  
Kakashi for extra training and is denied! Naruto doesn't take it very  
well.

I can't believe it.'

I can't believe it!'

I have to fight for everything I want and then fight ten times harder to keep it. I struggle my whole life to find people that I can believe in, only to start losing them a month after I open up.

Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba, and Chouji all came along with me to save this bastard who doesn't even want to be saved. Even Fuzzy Brows climbed out of his hospital bed to help this jerk and all Sasuke can do is whine about his hard life.

"You lack power and desire."

The idiot had the nerve to say something like that to me of all people.

I have more power within me that I refuse to tap fully than he will ever have. I have a strong enough desire to never be weak enough to give in to that power. He is the one whose desire blinds him and makes him weak.

"You are my closest friend. That is why there is value for me in killing you." He boasted.

True strength comes from holding up your friends and not from tearing them down. The Sasuke that I knew would have known the difference.

He fought to kill me and yet I held myself back in my first Rasengan. I wanted him back but nothing could make me want him dead. I cursed myself for this even as I allowed his Chidori to overpower me and throw us apart.

I finally knew for sure, my best friend wanted me dead.

I am used to this feeling of people wanting me dead, I am not used to remembering a time when they didn't. Maybe that is the reason why my heart was shattering within me.

He asked if I could read his mind by his punches. If I had been unable to, then it might have been easier to fight him without my heart getting in the way. Yes, he wanted me dead, but as I said I am used to this. What I read in his punches were desperation and pain.

It was the punch of a scared little boy who couldn't understand where mommy was and why she wasn't here.

I wonder now, if I had become your friend like I wanted instead of your rival, could I have eased this pain in you before it took such a deep root?

As your hand plunged through my chest, my only thought was that I couldn't lose you to Orochimaru. Even if I was not your friend, you were mine.

I refuse to lose a friend.

I have learned that my emotions call up the Kyuubi's power when they are strong enough. The first time I used the power was through my anger at Haku. The second time I used it out of fear for my life. This time, my sorrow was so great that it brought all other negative emotions along for the ride.

The burning heat of the red chakra welled up and surrounded me. I barely felt the fiery sensations of flesh knitting back together as I wallowed in my feelings.

I was hurting so badly for him that the Kyuubi's power radiated out of me, and he had the nerve to ask what I was.

He looked at me like the villagers did and judged me even as he tried to turn traitor. 

"What are you?" He asked.

I only had one answer for such a question, "Your friend."

Most people don't realize it but the red chakra is painful to use. The more intense my emotions become, the more the pain will increase. On that day, I felt as though I was being ripped apart. I screamed my agony to the world in hopes of alleviating some of it.

"What the hell could you, who was alone from the start, understand about me, eh?!" he screamed.

I tried to explain to him that I finally do have a family and that he was a part of it. I tried to make him realize that his leaving would rip apart the small family that I finally have. I could see it in his eyes that I had reached him for a moment.

It was only there for a second but I saw the softening of his eyes before his pride stepped up to the plate again. He donned his forehead protector to fight me as an equal, yet still aimed for my death.

He fed me a line of crap about how I am strong because I was alone like him. He failed to remember that while I was alone still, I was the dead last of our class.

It was not until my Iruka-Sensei stood up for me that I began to grow stronger. He failed to remember that I was weak against Haku till Sasuke himself was there for me. I was terrified of Gaara till Sasuke reminded me that Sakura needed us.

He was so blinded by revenge that he failed to see that his hated rival is only ever strong when protecting those that he loves.

That is what I was doing with him right then, fighting to protect someone I love from themselves. Come hell or high water, I would save the brother that I treasured!

We attacked each other ferociously. We threw everything we had at each other. He used his fire jutsu on me with surprising results. It was so powerful that I believe he scared himself with it. He became angrier with me than ever before shouting out that I was too  
late.

I believe he was afraid of what he had become and angry with me for not stopping him sooner. He wanted to be saved, yet refused to be saved.

In my stupor of realization I made the near fatal mistake of allowing him to slam me head first into the ground far below.

Even from the sewer of my mind, I could hear my best friend retching from what he had done.

The Kyuubi taunted me before he saved my sorry ass from death.

The pain that tore throughout my very cells returned my life and transformed me into what would later be called my Fox Cloak form.

The beast helped me to fight at a level that I had only dreamed of. Sasuke was powerless against me.

He stood before me and spouted off about being more special than I was. As if who was most special were actually important.

I don't want to be special. I want to be loved. And so did he if he would only admit it.

He transformed into the most beautifully hideous creature that I had ever seen. The fallout from our strongest weapons, Chidori and Rasengan, was so great that it changed the weather and created a black sphere of energy with us at the core.

A white-hot light overshadowed the black and left two monstrous fiends to see into each other's eyes and find the children who should have bonded long ago. I could see past the Kyuubi and he could finally see past the atrocious seal that projected his pain.

Kakashi later told me that he arrived to find us unconscious on the bank. We lay head to head and holding hands with just our first two fingers interlinked. He tried to separate us but was unable to.

I awoke somewhere along the way home on my love's strong back. Kakashi held me piggyback and a clone ran alongside us with Sasuke. Our hands were still tightly joined.

In desperate need of comfort, I rubbed my cheek against the smooth fabric of his mask. In his surprise, Kakashi stopped dead and looked over his shoulder at me. I felt his gaze but refused to take my eyes off of my friend for fear that he might still disappear.

"Are you all right love?" he whispered in my ear.

"No."

Gracefully, he maneuvered so that he held me face to face with him. "What hurts?" I could hear his worry.

Tears puddle in my eyes, "My soul hurts. This feeling is too big for it to just be my heart." I leaned the side of my forehead against his while still watching the sleeping boy next to us. "My only consolation is that the pain of nearly or even actually losing a dear person is nowhere near as bad as not having the person in your life to start with."

Sasuke's eyes opened and stared into mine. "Do you truly believe that?" he implored.

"Sasuke, I know it for a fact. Even when things got the worst, I still had the reassurance that I had a person who had at one time cared fore me. The empty feeling of total seclusion is an unbearable hell that no one should ever have to experience.

The next time that I opened my eyes, I found myself in a familiar room. I was once again in the hospital.

This time however, I was in a bed that was pushed up close to another bed and my hand was stretched out to grasp Sasuke's.

I heard the sound of stifled sobs and turned my head painfully. There sat the closest thing to a father that I could ever hope to have.

"Iruka-Nissan? " I croaked.

His head snapped up, "Naruto!" He exclaimed before throwing himself at my bedside. He tenderly grasped my bandaged hand. "I am so glad that you are alright."

A hesitant voice in the corner spoke up, "Naruto-Kun? "

"Sakura-Chan. " I replied.

"Thank you Naruto. You kept your promise to me and brought him back." She fidgeted with her hands as though very nervous. I suppose that it must have been hard for her to be so polite to me for a change.

"Thank you both for being here with us but I have to ask you to please leave." Sakura looked to be pissed and Iruka appeared heart broken. "It is not that I don't want you here," I rushed to assure them, "I just don't want anyone else around when Sasuke wakes up."

Understanding dawned in Iruka's chocolate eyes so he tactfully dragged the pink haired girl from the room.

Hours passed by slowly in the all white room. Thanks to the Kyuubi, I heal very fast. It was not until the early hours of the morning that Sasuke awoke.

"How do you feel Ani?" I whispered softly.

"Ani?" He replied.

"Yes silly. I told you earlier that I look to you as a brother and as someone that I strive to be like. That makes you my big brother, my Ani."

He stared at me for a heartbeat before bursting into tears that had been stored up since he was nine. I can't imagine how cleansing and uplifting it had to be for him to finally remove that self imposed weight.

I can tell you from experience that unshed tears can weigh you down like lead.

A long time later, the sun came pouring in through to window and lit up a bed with two teen boys hugging against the headboard. "I think that it is I who should strive to be more like you Naruto. Maybe it is I who should call you Ani." He chuckled.

I had never heard so sweet a sound as that before. It was the first time that I ever heard him happy, the kind of happy where your heart is at ease. "How about we call it even and become Ani to each other and no one else?"

He thought for a moment, "I like that idea."

For the first time in both of our lives, we had someone to talk to on equal ground about whatever we wanted to. Time had no meaning as a lifetime of loneliness was slowly appeased with friendship.

I had no idea that outside our room a certain Jounin was receiving the medical records, which fairly accurately mapped out our fight for him. He discovered how far Sasuke would go to leave and how far I would go to keep him there.

A very angry silver haired man burst into our private room. "You dared to use the Chidori against Naruto you bastard?!"

Sasuke recoiled in surprise and fear while I jumped between the two.

"Kakashi-Sensei, stop!" I commanded.

"Step aside Naruto." He growled.

"His mind was clouded but he is ok now. I swear to you that everything is alright now." 

He gave me an incredulous look, "He almost killed you twice!"

"I know. I know what he tried to do but I also know that he never wanted to do it in the first place. Ero-Senin came by yesterday and strengthened the seal himself. You have nothing to worry about."

A noise behind Naruto drew their eyes to the raven-haired boy. "Is that why I feel calmer and more organized? Jiraiya helped?" His hand rose up to his neck. To the mark that now appeared a lot more complex then before.

"Yes, he sealed the curse away completely. All you have to do now is make sure that Orochimaru never gets close enough to your neck to undo the new addition and you should be fine Ani."

His relief was so fierce that it was a tangible force in the small room.

"I don't care." Was Kakashi petulant reply.

"Kakashi-Sensei? " I whispered.

He looked deep into my eyes, "You abandoned and hurt a friend. You let your revenge rule you and hurt Naruto. I will not forgive you that easily for what you have done." He addressed Sasuke as he continued to watch me.

With that said he disappeared from the room.

"Don't worry Ani, he will come around eventually." I consoled the sad boy. "You were always close to him and will be again. It just might take a little time."

Sasuke smiled at me, "As long as you stay my friend, I can handle anything."


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Train Me!  
Chapter: Six  
Rating: Pg 13 light cursing  
Pairing: Naru/Kaka  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… I just drool over him!  
Summery: Before the final phase of the Chuunin exams, Naruto begs  
Kakashi for extra training and is denied! Naruto doesn't take it very  
well.

"Please Ero-Senin?" I pleaded. "What's the difference really?"

"A happy brat that I like and a moody brat I don't." he replied. 

I thought about my argument for a moment. "He wants to be stronger so bad that it is tearing him apart and while I accept that life has no shortcuts, he doesn't."

I could tell that I still wasn't getting through. "He needs to get out of this village so that the only progress he can see is his own. Here, people who grow at different rates distract him."

"You do know that you are only hurting your case right? Why would I want to train such a spoiled little brat that is weak enough to let other peoples abilities hurt his own?"

I peeked at the white haired man from under my lashes and attempted a new angle, "I know that he will be a great student. Even Kakashi-Sensei says that he has better potential and aptitude than I do."

"That is utter bull shit and you know it! You have so much potential within you that your lack of decent training is intolerable! "

"I don't know what you mean Ero-Senin." I hedged.

"I spent fifteen minutes, spread out over three weeks, explaining one of the world's hardest jutsu to you. You managed to learn it perfectly and still try to claim that your potential isn't great?! I even know that you learned the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu in just one hour!"

I sighed heavily. "He is my best friend and I would rather see him happy than be happy myself."

His eyes softened into a look that I have only ever received from Iruka-Nissan before. He bent down till his eyes where even with mine, "That is why I would rather spend my time with you. You will be our greatest Hokage one day and I need to make sure that you are well prepared and alive when that day comes."

He straitened up and turned to the door, "Isn't that right Sasuke-Kun?"

Sasuke slowly opened the door he had been listening at. He had the strangest expression, "What the hell are you asking him to do Naruto?"

Oops' I thought that he would be away getting tested by the doctors a lot longer, "Before all of this happened," I gestured around the hospital room, "I was asked by Jiraiya to go on a long training trip."

He nodded his understanding.

"Well," I stalled, "I was just asking him if he wouldn't rather have you. You know, since you want to get stronger so bad and he is more powerful than the snake bastard."

Sasuke's eyebrow rose, "No." he replied.

"What?" I screeched.

"Not only do you deserve it more then I do, but I am sure that he had his reasons for choosing you to go with him."

"Huh!" I was too surprised to even fake intelligence with decent reply.

I already know that my brother's organization is after him." He directed at the pervert. "You want to keep them from finding him until he is strong enough to handle it." Sasuke never looked more arrogant.

Jiraiya sighed, "Yeah."

"Then please, don't wait. That man already took everyone else that mattered to me and I won't allow him to take Ani too. Don't bring him back until he can beat them all into the ground and by then I will be able to help him." Sasuke appeared determined.

Jiraiya appraised him momentarily. "That settles it."

I tried to interrupt but my teacher wouldn't allow it. "You will both be going with me." Both of our jaws dropped. "Meet me at the gate tomorrow at sunrise."

Long after the pervert disappeared, we still stood there staring at each other.

The first few days where a little awkward, Sasuke was not comfortable around Jiraiya yet and I wasn't used to being myself around Sasuke.   
I am not going to try to say that I'm not a loudmouth moron. I know my own faults very well. The only thing is that I tend to play up my worst attributes when nervous or unsure.

I have always found that the dummy act can diffuse any situation. Traveling with people can be very nerve wracking until you fall into a rhythm together. Normally, I would have hammed it up after about five minutes out on the road.

This time I planned to change that. I knew the importance of this trip and was resolute that I would grasp all knowledge with both hands and absorb it fast. I did not have the time to goof off. Instead of playing up my faults, this time I would try to overcome them.

This was very hard to do, as bad habits are the hardest to break. I continually started speaking only to stop one syllable in, which annoyed my companions immensely.

It was almost a relief when we came across a caravan of pretty girls who distracted the ultimate pervert long enough for Sasuke to bop me over the head and return us all back to a semblance of normal.

We finally fell into our own routine from that day on. Jiraiya would spend a few hours telling us what to train on and how. Then, if we where near a village, he would head off to do his so-called research.

If we weren't by a town, then we would pester him till he taught us more. Finally we would eat and pass out for the night till the sun rose and we were at it again. 

Time always crawled in Konoha for me so it came as a great surprise to me when nearly a year passed by.

Sasuke and I were training as usual while thinking that Jiraiya was out peeping again. Suddenly, he popped out of the bushed and shouted at me, "Happy Birthday!"

The idiot was holding a huge cake on his head and a brightly wrapped present under his arm.

"Birthday?" asked my confused teammate. He shot me a puzzled glance and nearly fell over.

Apparently, the raven-haired boy had never seen me cry in happiness before.

"Ani?" he sounded concerned.

I really tried, but I couldn't talk at that moment if my life depended on it.

"Jiraiya took pity on me and spoke for me." You have never had a real birthday before have you kid?"

I could only shake my head through my sobs.

He placed his items on the ground and pulled me into a loose hug. "I promise that as long as I live it won't be your last."

"Could someone please tell me what on earth is going on?" came the indigent voice of our comrade.

I pulled away from the embrace to look at my friend closely. I had wanted to tell him the truth for a long time now and felt that to do it on October tenth seamed appropriate sum how.

I turned to Jiraiya, "Can I?" 

He seemed to be surprised that I was willing to talk about it but gave me his permission with a nod.

I looked back at my friend and realized that wanting to say something and actually doing it are two very different things. One is much harder.

I got several false starts before Sasuke lost his temper and demanded that I spit it out.

Squaring my shoulders, I decided to act like a man….

I used walking over to a log and getting comfortable on it to stall as long as I could.

"Come on Naruto. I thought you were a big tough ninja who wasn't afraid of anything. Just say what you want to say."

I was actually grateful for once to have such a blunt friend. He gave me an idea of where to start my story at.

"I am actually afraid of a lot of things." I began.

I know that he would have said something scathing and hurtful if a large hand had not wrapped around the lower half of his face first.

I had to laugh. "I suggest you listen quietly Ani. This is hard for me to talk about and you don't know where Jiraiya's hands have been lately.

Sasuke eyes resembled large dinner plates as he swung around to spit violently on the ground and harshly wiped his face.

Jiraiya looked offended but I didn't care because the mood had eased considerably. It suddenly wasn't nearly as hard to talk.

"As I was saying, I am afraid of a lot of things. I am just really good at hiding it."

Collecting my thoughts better I continued, "I am afraid of ever being truly alone again. I am afraid of losing the few precious people that I have learned to trust. I am afraid of walking down the streets of Konoha by myself."

That last one caught his attention. "Right now I am truly terrified of how you are going to react to my secret."

He started to open his mouth but seeing a perverted hand move out of the corner of his eye he snapped his mouth shut again.

"A new law was made the week that I was born," I pressed on. It prohibited anyone from telling the younger generation anything about what happened to me the day that I was born."

I took a deep breath to still my nerves. "The strange red chakra of mine that you keep asking about is not really mine," I tried from a different direction. "On the day that I was born, the Kyuubi was sealed into me by the Fourth."

I had come this far and now raced through the rest as fast as I could. "The villagers can't tell the difference between a container and the actual demon even though I am considerably smaller and less powerful. Not to mention, I am not evil."

They cursed at me, and tried to hurt me every chance that they got when I was young. They taught their children to hate me too and encouraged them to gang up on me." I began crying without realizing it.

"The Ramen stand people where the only ones willing to sell me edible food and Iruka-Sensei was the first person to show me true kindness." 

Running out of steam I realized how much I had said and tried to bolt. Two strong hands grabbed my arms tight.

"The villagers are stupid and I am the only one who could be called a demon here since I tried to kill my best friend for something as stupid as power." Sasuke growled from my left.

Jiraiya piped up from my right, "you are not alone any more and as your teacher, I command you to enjoy today to the fullest."

Relief washed over me. They support me and won't make me talk about it any more.' I thought.

They dragged me back to my seat and shoved a slice of cake into my hands.

We ate in comfortable silence. It was just too hard to brood with the sweet icing of a giant frog shaped cake in your mouth.

After the treat had been devoured, I received my first present ever.

Jiraiya pressed the package into my hands and I stared at it in wonder. "What do I do with this?" I whispered.

Sasuke cleared his thought suspiciously, "You rip the paper off as fast as you can to see what is inside." He explained.

My head shot up, "Are you sure? Won't that ruin the paper or something?

Jiraiya laughed softly, "No kid that is half the fun."

I started hesitantly but the ripping off the paper really was kinda fun and I found my self shredding the shinny stuff and tossing it in the air.

Inside was a simple box that I assumed I was supposed to open also. In the box was a pile of neatly folded fabric.

"New clothes?" I asked in awe.

Yeah, I know it's not real fun to get clothes on your birthday but I didn't know what else to get." He explained.

"No!" I shouted. "I am not upset. I have never received new clothes before."

"What?" He asked.

"I always get my clothes from behind the charity shop. I root through the stuff that they reject.

"That is why you wear that ugly outfit?" Sasuke burst out appalled. 

Of course, it was either this, or an outfit like Lee's." I answered.

I stood up and dashed behind the bushes to change. A pair of black ninja pants that was soft and light. Perfect for any mission. Next was a black fish net shirt with a tight weave. Finally, a black sleeveless t-shirt with an orange swirl on the left side that wrapped around to my back completed the outfit.

I pulled my sandals back on and rejoined my friends, their looks of surprise where priceless.

"Naruto," Jiraiya began, "I can't believe what you were hiding under that horrible outfit."

"I tilted my head in question.

"You have a nicely defined body and a handsome face that the huge coat of yours completely hid." He declared.

What are you smokin?" I asked.

"No Naruto," Sasuke chimed in. "You look one hundred percent better."

Still not believing them I strolled over to the nearby pond to look for myself. The reflection in the water was a surprise. I really did appear almost handsome.

Wait till Kakashi sees this!' I thought.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Train Me!  
Chapter: Seven  
Rating: Pg 13 light cursing  
Pairing: Naru/Kaka  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!­ I just drool over him!  
Summery: Before the final phase of the Chuunin exams, Naruto begs Kakashi for extra training and is denied! Naruto doesn't take it very well. 

_**Note from the Author:**_ In the show, they tell you that Orochimaru can't take another body for three years and that Akatsuki won't be after Naruto for about three years. I took it to mean that both would try to get what they want as soon as possible and I want to push them both to the limit and make them panicky and stupid! Just to let you know so you don't thin I didn't do the research! LOL!

**Train Me!** _Chapter Seven_

I have always heard the age old saying that time flies faster when you are having fun. This was the first time in my life that I believed it!

Jiraiya, Sasuke and I had been traveling and training for three and a half years. The pervert would train us heavily as we traveled from one village to another. Once we reached our destination, He would set Sasuke up with some friend he wanted my Ani to train with. 

Sometimes he would have me train with one of his friends too.

Usually, I would follow his directions while he went off to do research. After perfecting whatever technique he had set for me, I would work on something of my own.

That was what I was doing on the day that all hell broke loose!

I had been working on my own personal version of the Rasengan for a long time. First, I had to condense the shape even further than the original. It took me about a week to shrink it to my satisfaction.

When I had finished, a large blue marble rested in my palm. It appeared solid until you looked close enough to see the swirls within.

Once I was satisfied, I moved on to training with my element. I would throw a kunai and then attempt to guide it with my wind element. This fortunately only took about two days to get right.

Finally, I attempted to throw my little Rasengan marble. I would throw it as far as I could and try to direct it with my wind.

It was a lot harder than I thought. At first, it would disperse within a few feet of me. Three weeks of hard work ended in amazing results.

I stood in the field that I had been using for training. My deadly blue marble was zipping around the field in a strange dance. Up and down, swoop and swish, the marble flitted about to the tune in my head. 

After completing a particularly difficult twisting spiral dive, I aimed it straight for a large tree about fifty feet from the edge of the field.

As it blew into a thousand pieces, I aimed another at a cluster of bushes. That too blasted apart in a spectacular display of power.

"I could do this all day or you could come out of hiding and fight me like a man Kabuto." I shouted at a small hill.

Chuckling lightly, a tall white haired teen with glasses gracefully stood up from behind the hill. "You have grown very strong Naruto-kun. I am impressed."

"What the fuck do you want you traitor?" I seethed.

He raised his hands in a careless jutsu, "You have been very hard to find Naruto-kun. Orochimaru-sama has been very anxious."

I hated him for stalling, "Get to the point bastard!"

"Sorry," He offered a fake smile, "My master is very angry with you for denying him the Sharingan. He demands your head."

"I guess you will just have to tell him that you can't always get what you want in life!" I retorted with my tongue out.

I quickly had to leap into the air as a hand popped out of the ground like a daisy in the snow. I flipped and landed safely at a distance. My hands flew automatically into the hand signs for my favorite jutsu. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" I called.

The field filled with smoke as one hundred copies of myself appeared. "You really think that your little clones can help you this time?" he asked incredulously.

The time for talk had ended. If Kabuto were here, then the snake must be near Sasuke. I had to get this over with and go help my friend.

In a flurry of motion, the white haired traitor dashed about the battlefield with a popping sound following in his wake. He systematically destroyed every clone he came across.

He seemed to think that I had not grown at all in the time since he last saw me. This was  
to be his downfall.

Using his overconfidence, I allowed him to get close enough to me to use his chakra scalpel on my left thigh. As he was slicing my tendons, I was aiming a blue marble at his neck.

Unfortunately, the freak noticed just in time to doge and took the hit to his right shoulder. It pierced cleanly through and took out a large chunk of ground behind him.

'Damn!' I thought. I had not become as perfect at control as I thought. It was meant to blow him to little bits, not the ground behind him. 

Kabuto hung back to face me, "I expected more out of you Naruto-kun." He sounded disappointed.

I lost the battle with my temper and lunged at him. I realized in the air that I was making a stupid gennin level mistake and instantly created several clones. Four of them looked like they were about to play chicken as two were on the shoulders of the others. The top  
Naruto's grabbed my hands and flung me high into the air.

Kabuto watched me fly high and missed it when my clones surrounded him. They each performed a series of earth seals before slamming their right hands on the ground. A great big wall of dirt, burst up around the medical genius.

Up above him, I instantly filled the crater with smoke bombs and explosive tags.

A few minutes later, the smoke cleared to reveal a very battered young man. Kabuto was bleeding so badly that you could not even distinguish what his wounds were.

He used 'Secret Healing Wound Destruction' to recover from the damage. His wounds resealed and he used the rag that used to be his shirt to swipe away the remaining blood.

He searched for me but could not detect my location.

Kage Bunshin swarmed over him again in waves. They pounded at him relentlessly. The more he popped, the more I sent. At last, he stepped into the position that I wanted him in.

Low on chakra, he did not notice that one of the kunai on the ground was not like the others.

When his back was to it, the kunai morphed into myself and I slammed my improved Rasengan into his spine, between his shoulder blades. He screamed in agony and fell to the ground.

His damn jutsu saved his worthless ass once again. "I feel sorry for you." I spit out at him.

His eyes sought mine in surprise. "You could have stayed in Konoha and become a great shinobi with people who cared enough about you to risk their life for yours. Instead, you chose to follow a man who only cares about his own existence." 

His eyes became like two dinner plates in his face. He tried to stutter out a reply but fell silent. He scuttled back as I advanced upon him.

My hand filled with a bright blue light and this time I aimed for his eyes.

The log I hit became a pile of splinters within seconds.

'That bastard got away again' I seethed. 'Every time we get close to winning, he and his master run away like a dog with its tail between his legs. You just know that they will come back again when he gets hungry enough.

I caught my breath as fast as I could before racing to the compound in which my brother was training.

I saw no signs of struggle but refused to rely on that. I scaled the gate and searched the dojo for any signs of life.

I could hear the sound of flesh meeting flesh in a vicious punch. I heard the groan of pain from a man who had just had his ass handed to him.

Not giving it a second thought, red chakra enveloped me and I broke down the door in my haste to enter the room.

Sasuke stood before me in a traditional work out gi. His hair was mussed and he was sweaty from exertion. The man at his feet was the son of the house who had been unlucky enough to get stuck sparing with the Uchiha.

"What is your problem Dobe?" Sasuke barked. I could see the concern he tried to hide.

I had no time to waste on our usual banter. "Jiraiya now!" I demanded and left. I figured that he would follow me without question. Just as I could read him, he knew when I was being serious about something.

We went to the nearby women's bath as fast as we could. The old peeper was nestled into a comfy little bush that offered him shelter from the certain wrath of angry women if he were found out.

Naruto grabbed him by the collar and dragged him into the open. "What in hell is your problem you little brat?" He whispered harshly. Jiraiya struggled to be released so that he could return to his favorite activity.

"Forget it old man," I ground out. "We have to get out of here now. It would probably be best to head straight home even."

That certainly got his attention. "Home? What's wrong Naruto?"

"Kabuto came by for a chat and to kill me." My announcement enraged them both. "I only got the better of him because he expected me to still have the brain power of a pea. He was badly injured but he got  
away and I for one don't want to be around if the Snake-sannin comes to town."

They thankfully agreed with me. "Good!" I exclaimed before I fell forward unconscious. I had apparently used a lot more chakra than I thought I had in my battle.

It was a long time before I woke up again. "About time you carried yourself dobe," snarled Sasuke.

I carefully lifted my head to find that I was strapped to my brother's back and that we where very high up in a tree. "I think I can walk now." I murmured.

He helped me down from his back and to steady myself. "How long was I out and how close are we to home?" I asked.

Jiraiya answered, "You have been out for two and a half days and we will be home by nightfall."

If I was out that long even with the Kyuubi's healing abilities, I must have nearly killed myself with chakra exhaustion.

I gazed up to the sky and found that it was only a few hours till nightfall. "We were almost home." I pondered. "Will Kakashi still want me?"

With all of the much more important things swimming around in my head, the only thought that I seemed able to linger on was the silver haired Jounin. 

I had just escaped death, again, by sheer luck alone and all I could think about was if the man I loved would love me back.

I gained a new appreciation for how Sakura managed to function at all with the ferocity of her crush on the raven-haired boy.

That made me wonder if the pink haired girl had gotten any stronger while we were gone and also made me think about the rest of my friends.

I was so busy going in mental circles that I failed to realize that we had arrived at the gates.

We were back home and I wasn't sure what to be afraid of most, the villagers or my loved ones.

I was yanked from my thoughts as a familiar voice rang out through the streets.

"Naruto!"


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Train Me!  
Chapter: eight  
Rating: Pg 13 light cursing  
Pairing: Naru/Kaka  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… I just drool over him!  
Summery: Before the final phase of the Chuunin exams, Naruto begs Kakashi for extra training and is denied! Naruto doesn't take it very well.

Beta: aimless38 I couldn't do it without her!!!!

I had climbed up to the top of a tall pole to get a good look at my village.

"Naruto!" came the familiar voice.

I turned my head but the person I found did not match the voice I had heard. Konohamaru was standing next to Jiraiya with both hands enthusiastically in the air. 

"Naruto, is it you?" To the left of my little friend stood my old teammate in all her pink haired glory.

She started to speak more but the sight of her old crush behind Jiraiya caused a flurry of girly squeals. "Sasuke-kun!" She pounced on the poor boy for all she was worth and proceeded to hug the stuffing out of him.

He tried to remain stoic and Uchiha but it must have been difficult for him. It is rather difficult to look cool and aloof when you are turning blue.

I hopped down to join them, "You might want to let him breath Sakura-Chan."

Embarrassed, she jumped back so fast that the brunet stumbled slightly. She then tried to engage me in conversation.

It is not that I don't care for her, I really do! I just had a lot of time to think while we were away and came to a few realizations. Now that I loved someone else, I realized just how much I had overlooked where the kunoichi was concerned.

I was too blinded by a desire to be liked to notice just how badly she had treated me in the past. She earned a few points in the hospital when I brought back Sasuke but that was like a bandage on a surgical cut. It just wasn't going to cover up the bigger problem.

I had decided that as much as I wanted to be her friend and protect her, she would have to earn my trust before I could be a true friend to her.

With all of this in my mind, I brushed her off in favor of Konohamaru. "You sure have grown." I said to him and his friends.

With a cheeky grin he showed me how he had truly grown. His version of my sexy jutsu had improved greatly. He was so pleased with himself that I had to burst his bubble.

"I have learned a lot and grown myself. I don't do it like that anymore and neither should you! " I waited just long enough for his face to dissolve into disappointment. "I have created the new and improved Sexy No Jutsu'", I hollered loudly.

Unfortunately, before I could display my new form, Sakura pounded me into the ground.

It was a long time until the temperamental woman allowed me to stand back up. "You have been training haven't you?" I asked.

She appeared surprised, "How did you know that?"

"You hit a lot harder!" I wined. I ignored the questioning glance from Sasuke. He didn't understand why I was slipping back into the role of a whiney fool.

While we where traveling, I was still a boisterous person but I had a focus for my energy. I was a lot less annoying in other words. Ani was using his eyes to ask me why I would revert back.

The truth is, bad habits are hard to break. My stupidity is a great way to keep people I don't trust at a distance. The look I sent him clearly said, I don't trust her.' He understood.

We made our way to the Hokage tower without any further interruptions. I had missed the old woman very much. 

"Tsunade-baba! " I called out as we entered her office. I saw the fire in her eyes until she realized that I didn't mean it in a bad way at all.

People where I come from are not very demonstrative at all. You would hardly ever see someone hug in public for instance. So it was a great surprise to my companions when I walked around the desk to hug one of the few people in this world that I saw as family.

She froze up for a moment before crushing me into her impressive bosom.

Now, I know that I am in love with a man, and that typically, men in love with men don't care about breasts. All I have to say to that is that if any gay man saw her humongous knockers, they would at least be turned bi instantly!

When she finally released me into the sweet air that I had been deprived of, my expression must have been slightly dazed. Sakura assumed that I had been aiming for that result the whole time and tried to hit me again.

I didn't feel like taking abuse for crimes I haven't committed and so I grabbed her wrist tightly. "I will not let you abuse me for hugging my … well," I hesitated, she was more to me than a sister or an aunt, so I decided to claim her as my grandma, "Soba." I finished.

Silence filled the room. I was almost afraid to look at the woman whose temper was as legendary as her losing streak for fear of her being offended. "Naruto?" she said all too quietly.

I slowly turned my head like it was rusty clockwork. I almost fell over at the tears in her eyes.

NO! NO! NO! DON"T CRY!' I screamed in my head.

Feeling frantic, I almost kissed Ero-Senin's feet when he nullified the situation. "Tsunade-sama, didn't you have something you wanted to tell the kids?" He asked.

She cleared her throat and nodded her head, " I have decided that before you can take on your ninja duties again, your team must pass a test."

A test?' I thought.

You will be team seven only until the next chunnen exam. After that, you will leave your Jounin instructor behind and become a fully-fledged three-man team. Until then, he will remain as a supervisor of sorts for your team."

Kakashi won't be a part of our team much longer?' I was stunned. I couldn't fathom not being a part of his team. I would have to watch him go off on dangerous missions without me there to help.

"You will be tested on your team work," she continued. "I already know that all three of you are strong capable ninjas but you haven't worked together in a long time. As your powers changed, so did the dynamics of your team. You need to relearn each others limits and prove that you can help to support each others weaknesses."

A knock was herd at the door. Tsunade allowed the people from the other side to enter.

Sakura became all bubbly when Shikamaru entered along with Temari. "Look! Look!" she happily giggled. "Look who's back!" She gestured to Sasuke.

Shikamaru barely glanced at the Uchiha when he whipped his head in my direction. "Naruto!" He exclaimed with more energy then I thought he possessed.

"Shika, Temari! I am glad to see you! How is Gaara?" I was thirsty for news of my friend.

She smiled kindly, "Well thanks to you." 

I blushed at the complement and turned back to the Hokage, "Are they part of this test of yours?"

Shika looked unhappy at the sound of work, "What test?"

"No," she laughed. "Look out the window.

Curious, I opened said window and hopped out onto the overhang for the windows below. There on the sun warmed awning sat my favorite silver haired Jounin.

"Kakashi." I breathed.

He appeared almost nervous to see me. "YO!" he answered.

I suddenly remembered that I had a present for him and so I dug around in my bag for it. I had long ago realized that his porn books were a complete front. If you ever caught him actually reading it and not just holding it in front of his face, you would realize that he  
usually had a decent book with the indecent cover.

Knowing this, I made him a special gift that I dearly hoped he would like. I held out the new, unreleased copy of Icha Icha Paradise.'

He lit up like a Christmas tree. I could tell that it was a faked reaction but I patiently waited for him to look inside. He was puzzled until he began to read the first page. 

_Dear Koi,_

I hope that you do not mind me defacing your precious book but I wanted you to have this. I spent the last three years thinking of you and righting you letters. I also kept a journal of sorts with random thoughts and excerpts from the books and poems that I read. (A few of my teachers sought to make me more well rounded in my mind as well as my body, and what do you know, I actually like to read a good book!) I have collected it all into a kind of diary for you. I hope that you like this little piece of me and I also still have the original contents of this book in the front pocket of my bag if you want it. I am sure you can pilfer it with out any trouble. (See! I have been studying! I now know words like PILFER!)._  
_  
I waited with baited breath as he read my message. His single eye softened and he began to show real interest in the book he held.

"Stop messing around you two and get in here!" Soba yelled out the window. "Kakashi, are you prepared to test your team?" She asked him.

"Yes. Follow me." He dashed out the window again and out onto the rooftops.

We all raced to keep up with him. He took us to the place where we had our first bell test.

It was set up a little strangely. What appeared to be an obstacle course now met our eyes where open field used to be. "Today, you will work on trust exercises, tomorrow you will do a special mission to test your team work." He explained.

I had a bad feeling about this. I knew that Sasuke and I trusted each other completely. Both of us however had issues where Sakura was concerned. I decided to be honest with her for once to head off a huge disaster.

"I already know that I will fail today's exercises then." Sasuke appeared to agree with me but the other two were completely shocked. 

Sakura decided to voice her opinion. "What is the matter with you idiot? You haven't even heard what the exercises are yet and you already don't think that you can trust Sasuke?" She attempted to hit me on the head and yet again, I caught her off guard by stopping her.

"I never said that I don't trust Sasuke." I calmly informed her.

Her confusion slowly turned to hurt. "Are you trying to say that you don' trust me?" She asked hotly.

"That is exactly what I am saying. I don't trust you to have my back if you are too distracted by Sasuke to pay attention to anything else." She opened her mouth in anger but I plowed on, "I don't trust you to listen to be when I have something important to say. I don't trust you not to say things thoughtlessly that hurt me a lot." Her mouth snapped shut.

"I don't trust you to be my friend as long as someone better is around or even if we are alone." These words had been locked up in me for far too long and I felt a heavy weight lifting off of my shoulders to fall onto hers. I went in for the kill, "I have no reason to trust you and every reason not to."

It broke my heart to see her cry because of me but I didn't regret my words, "I will always be your friend but I can't trust you to be mine." I finished.

Sasuke and I had long ago come to the realization that the only way we could ever have an effective team would be to confront Sakura head on.

Sasuke began his part in our well-rehearsed speech, "I don't trust you."

Her body stiffened she tried to interrupt but I held up my hand to stop her for him.

After a short pause, Sasuke continued, "I don't trust you because you claim to love me yet you don't know me."   
"I know all about you!" She screamed.

He glared at her for once again interrupting him. "You and the other girls were too busy fighting over me to find out anything important. The whole lot of you were so impressed by my looks and name that you forgot about the boy I really was."

She looked like she wanted to argue but knew she couldn't. "You were so busy fawning over me that you got in the way and hurt your other team mate. I can't help but wonder how you would treat me if I lost my fortune in disgrace and became horribly scarred." He continued.

Her mouth dropped open at the mere possibility of the perfect boy becoming poor and ugly.

I turned to our Sensei, "I am sorry Kakashi-Sensei, and I know you had some trust exercises planned but we already knew the result. We both care about Sakura as a teammate but it will take more than one-day to build up the trust that is missing in our team. We request that Sakura have the rest of the day to reflect on our words and we  
can meet back here tomorrow for the mission of yours."

Seeing the wisdom in my request, Kakashi agreed readily.

"I have faith that you can change and become a true teammate. You just have to work at it a little." I said kindly.

She smiled sweetly at me before I dashed away. I had an important person to visit that shouldn't wait any longer.

KAKASHI 

I sat on a thick branch outside, watching him carefully. I had missed him so much it hurt.

He was my inspiration and my rock to lean on. Being away from him this long had felt like I was missing a vital part of myself.

He didn't notice me for a long time. I was a lot more patient now than in my youth so I waited quietly.

When he finally glanced in my direction, I was rewarded with his complete and utter shock. He stumbled to the window and threw it open.

I easily swung my body into his room and into his waiting embrace. "I missed you Sensei."

"I missed you too Naruto." He replied as he finally pulled back.

"Iruka-sensei? Who is that?" Asked a small girl in the front row.

He spared her a glance before returning his attention to me, "This is my little brother Naruto and he has been gone for a long time."

Understanding dawned upon the room full of students. "Class is dismissed early today, go practice for your shuriken throwing test tomorrow." Within five minuets, the room had emptied.

"Lets get some ramen while you tell me every detail you can recall of your journey." He declared.

I grinned my widest, "You said the magic word! Lets get ramen."

We spent the rest of the day at the counter of the Ramen stand catching up. When we entered the stand, the owner took one look at me and put out the closed sign so that he could focus solely on our conversation. He dished up servings of miso ramen for the rest of the day.

I learned all about the comings and goings of Konoha in the past three and a half years. They interrogated me about my time away. I had never had so much fun before in my life.

We laughed, cried and reminisced. I felt like I had a real family for once and the comfort of that thought warmed me through and through.

When the night drew to a close, I was reluctant to return to my dusty apartment all alone. Iruka must have read my mind, "I hope you don't mind but I kept an eye on your place while you were gone. I dusted and watered the plants so it shouldn't be too bad." he explained.

I was overcome with gratitude. My home would not feel nearly so empty and cold with the thought of the gentle chunen's care that filled it. I gave him my best smile and his answering grin told me that he understood and accepted my thanks.

I entered my apartment tiredly and dropped my heavy bags by the door. Heavy training and long travels had left me feeling grimy as hell. I wanted nothing more then to stand in the shower until all of the hot water had been absorbed into my skin. 

Of course, that meant that I had to wait fifteen minutes for the long dry pipes to remember how to work and what hot water was.

At last, I was able to stand beneath the warm spray and melt into the wall. Water trickled over my head and down my body in comforting rivulets, the soap slipped across my skin with a silky slide, and my knees went weak with pleasure as I massaged shampoo into my blond hair.

An hour and a half later, I stepped out of the steamy room with a towel around my waist and another one over my head.

I flicked on the light in my bedroom and received the shock of my life. "As much as I liked your new look today, I must say that I love this one."

I dropped the towel from my head and stared into the miss-matched eyes of the man who had never been far from my thoughts. "What are you doing here Kakashi?" I stuttered.

"A sad pout graced his maskless face, "I have been waiting here for you since you left the training ground."

"What?" I shouted, "I was with Iruka-ni at Ichiraku's. We were catching up."

He nodded, "I figured as much. It's all right," he lifted the book I had given him up for my inspection, "I had a good book to read."

I am sad to say that I blushed lightly at his words. I tried to speak but he cut me off. "It doesn't say anything in this book of mine about all of the times you faced death."

My eyes widened in horror. I never wanted him to learn about those times. "I read all of the reports while you were gone," he growled, "And Tsunade told me about this last time with Kabuto because as your teacher, I deserve to know." 

I swallowed painfully. "You are far too reckless with a life that is precious to me!" I had never before heard him raise his voice and I must say that it scared me a little.

I stood there uncomfortably, with his intense gaze on my exposed body. He slowly rose from his perch on my windowsill and approached me. I had to use a lot of will power to not back away from him.

I found myself to be in his arms a heart beat later. His mouth devoured mine in a searing kiss. It was a lot easier to do now that we where more equal in height.

Time lost all meaning as we each reveled in the nearness of the other. Our hands sought proof that we truly held each other and not the fantasies that had tortured us.

The rough fabric of his gloves created friction on my damp back while his bare fingertips soothingly danced up my spine. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled our bodies close.

His heavy breathing was music to my ears. I sighed in contentment to show him my appreciation. I was floating on a cloud and I never wanted to come back down.

His passionate kiss eased back into a sweet caress. Teasing nips and lazy licks drove me crazy when I needed something more substantial. It felt like he was trying to pull away and yet didn't want to.

I agreed with him, I didn't want this to end so soon. I pushed chakra into my feet and forced him back onto my bed.

We landed with a bounce that disconnected our lips. "Naruto?" He panted.

I couldn't allow him to talk. I knew that he would still claim that I was too young at sixteen and a half. I would not give him the chance to pull away if I could help it.

I straddled his hips and attacked his throat. I licked up his jaw line and nibbled at his pulse point.

I felt his hands land on my bare upper thighs and they trembled slightly. He refused to slide them up under my towel but my lover couldn't keep himself from tightening his grip.

I slid my hands up under his shirt. His skin was smooth and warm to my touch. I felt goose bumps sprout up in the wake of my fingers. I traced his ribcage with tender strokes and inched my hand higher.

I had never felt so bold and in control before. I felt like the world was mine for the taking if I could only have this man. My index finger brushed against the textured nub of his nipple and I raked my fingernail across it.

A second later, I found myself all by myself on my bed and looking up at a flushed Jounin on the other side of the room. He straitened his clothes and composed himself with a visible effort.

"I really want to continue this but you know we can't." he rasped.

"I will be legal in five months Koi. Why wait any longer?" I was not going to give up without a fight.

He seemed to think about it for a minute, "I want to be with you so badly Naruto, but I refuse to have any regrets about this. I want to treat you right and wait for you like I should. I know you will be well worth the wait." He was pleading with me and we both knew it. If I pushed, I knew that I could get what I wanted.

"So what do you suggest? You want to go home and sleep all by yourself again like you hopefully have for the past few years." I must have struck a cord because anger shot through his eyes like a lightning bolt.

"Of course I have been alone! I told you that you are the only one I want and I meant it! What about you and the Uchiha? Have you been lonely at night?" I could tell that he regretted his words the moment they left his mouth.

"I did occasionally share a bed with him," Kakashi appeared ready to kill the raven haired boy in a gruesome way, "But it was only because accommodations sucked in most places. He is my brother and nothing more."

Kakashi sagged with relief. Unable to keep his distance any longer, he came over to sit by me on the bed. He reached over to brush my heir from my face, "I missed you." He whispered.

"Stay the night and hold me?" I begged. "I promise not to push you, I just want you to be near."

He smiled at me and kicked his shoes off to climb into the bed. He wrapped his arms around me securely and drew me up tight into him. I rubbed my feet against his and stroked his arm in rhythmic circles.

I thought came to mind, "I just want you to know that you had better rest up the whole week before my birthday because you won't get any sleep from 12:01 on October tenth till at least midnight on the eleventh."

I felt him stiffen up behind me so I decided to tease him a little more, "Remember, I am the king of stamina and surprises."

I had a wonderful nights sleep but the circles under his eyes in the morning told me that his dirty mind had kept him too occupied to get any rest.


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Train Me!  
Chapter: eight  
Rating: Pg 13 light cursing  
Pairing: Naru/Kaka  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… I just drool over him!  
Summery: Before the final phase of the Chuunin exams, Naruto begs Kakashi for extra training and is denied! Naruto doesn't take it very well.

Beta: aimless38 I couldn't do it without her!!!!

Credit: My dear husband was forced to help me figure out strategy for several hours and I love him for it!!

The early morning light was warm on my back as I made my way to the bridge to meet my team the next day. Sleeping beside Kakashi all night had been wonderful but I was disappointed to wake up alone. He must have slid out of bed long before the sun.

"Sasuke-kun!" I squinted slightly to gaze into the distance and saw Ani approaching the bridge where Sakura was waiting for us.

Squaring my shoulders, I prepared myself for the day ahead. I fervently hoped that she had listened to us the previous day. Hesitantly, I stepped into view.

She caught sight of me instantly and opened her mouth, I held my breath, "NARUTO-KUN!!!!!" she screeched at the top of her lungs.

I stepped back in shock; Sasuke's jaw actually dropped and we stared at our pink haired teammate. I almost pinched my arm to see if her smile was real or my imagination. Cautiously, I joined them on the bridge.

Sakura blushed and stared at her fidgeting toes, "I know that I blew it yesterday and I want to apologize. I really did do a lot of growing up while you two were away. I don't love Sasuke as anything more than a dear friend any more," that was a shock to both of us, "and I know that Naruto is not the root of all my problems. I just fell back into a very bad habit when you came back and for that I am truly sorry! It might take me a while for my actions to catch up to my growth but I hope that you are patient with me in the mean time."

I felt a tightness that I hadn't known was there release within my heart. "Of course! You are like our sister and we will always be here for you." Her smile stretched across her face and glowed with warmth, a moment later my arms where full of both pink and black hair as she had dragged Ani into a group hug.

Knowing that Kakashi would be late and put us through the ringer, we took the opportunity to sit down and talk about our training and abilities. It was best to know how your teammates fight before battle is upon you.

It was very nostalgic and sweet to sit on the bridge with them. I felt like I had truly come home. It was also new and strange, as we had never gotten along so well before. Sasuke was participating in the discussion and even showed emotions somewhat freely. Sakura was relaxed and calm with both of us. She seemed brighter and much more confident. I was a lot less annoying as a whole. I had lost the need to scream my worth to the world and so I was able to be thoughtful and intelligent without my exuberance getting in the way.

About two and a half hours later, we heard the soft pop that accompanies Kakashi's arrival. "Yo!" he sighed.

His new book was firmly in his hand. He didn't know it but I had color-coded the book before I gave it to him. I knew that he would be reading it all the time and I wanted to be able to tell what part he was at by glancing at him. Each chapter had a different shade of off white and special pages were different colors as well.

Right now, he was reading pages that were slightly grey and three pages past a blue one. He was reading about a nightmare that I sometimes have.

I hid behind my bangs as bad memories flooded my mind. My dream would not really seem all that terrible to anyone who had not lived my life, to me however, it is a horrible nightmare.

In my dream, I am walking down a very long road. It is in bad repair and I am the only one there. On both sides of the street stand cheerful houses and the light from the windows is warm and inviting. Looking in, I find all of the people that I have ever known.

Each window holds a different face or family, and every one is happy. I see food present and a lot of laughter. Everything looks so wonderful that it makes my heart ache, because I can't leave the road.

I have no destination in sight, and no beginning behind me, but my feet won't stop going forward while my eyes keep looking back.

I glanced up at my love to see what his reaction was and the sad tilt of his eye told me that he understood.

I watched Kakashi take a breath, as he forced himself to perk up and put the book away. "I have big plans for you my little minions." I probably should have felt sorry for him when Sakura started to scream and throw weapons, but I didn't.

When she finally calmed down and Kakashi caught his breath, he gestured for us to follow him. We were led to a large field that was full of angry people. "AH! So like my youthful eternal rival to be more that fashionably late!" Hollered Gai.

All of our friends and their teachers were there. Even The Hokage, "I have better things to do with my time Hatake then wait around for you!" she growled.

Puzzled, he waited for an explanation with bated breath. "I have planned out a very interesting test for you three." He began. "I already realize that three people trained by Sannen are bound to be very strong. What I want to know is how smart you are and if you can put it to practical use."

I narrowed my eyes in speculation. I could tell that he was up to something and proud of it.

"You will challenge team ten to a game of strategy. To keep things fair, I have chosen a game that none of you have played before. It is called chess." Kakashi paused for breath and Ino jumped in.

If it is a challenge between our two teams, why are all the other people here?"

"Troublesome!" Shikamaru sighed, "He will get to that in a minute if you wait."

Ignoring them both, Kakashi continued, "I will show you how the game is played quickly and then you will choose between you which of your team mates will be the player or team captain for the game. We will play a live version of the game where real people are the pieces. Your other two-team mates will be the two main pieces and the players will take turns picking from everyone else. Instead of one piece defeating another by the normal game rules, each move will be decided by a battle."

"Eh?" several people seemed lost.

Kakashi whipped out a small chessboard and the pieces. He explained that the game was to get the opponents King piece into a position where it could not move without sacrificing itself. Each player would have sixteen pieces, the King and Queen, two Bishops, two Knights, two Rooks, and eight Pawns. He showed them all how the pieces were supposed to move and the basic roles. Then he explained his changes to the rules, "Instead of a piece losing to another in the normal way, if you want your Knight to take their Pawn, the two people had to battle it out.

"Also," here it comes thought Naruto. "I don't want this game to take a year so each combatant is restricted to three moves or techniques chosen by the player." The so-called game pieces erupted in anger. Kakashi silenced them with an outburst of his own, "This is not about strength but strategy! I don't underestimate how strong you all are but how intelligently you apply your strength! You may make a suggestion to your player about the moves you can do but the choice will be theirs. You each get one Tie-jutsu, one Nin-jutsu, and one Gen-jutsu."

He turned to the hyper boy in green, "Lee, you will be the exception to that rule as you don't have chakra but your player will still pick your three moves."

He turned back to teams seven and ten "Pick your players."

I faced my friends to see what they thought. "Sasuke-kun! You should be the player and Naruto should be the Queen." She exclaimed.

I was curious, "Why?"

She looked exasperated, "Sasuke is the smartest so he should be the leader and you are a more diverse fighter so you should be in the Queens spot because that is the ultimate defense for the King."

Sasuke grinned, "You actually do have a few points but you aren't quite right."

"Eh?" she turned to the raven-haired boy.

"Naruto should be the player because he is better at battle strategy on a large scale like this and he understands people better."

She appeared uncertain so I took over, "I use my clone technique a lot and that has trained me on how to manage an army while Sasuke only has to keep an eye on his friends and manage himself in a battle. Also, he never cared about these people while we where here before while I have fought or trained with all of them and paid attention."

"Oh." She murmured, "So I will be the King and Sasuke the Queen?" She asked.

"Nope." Stated Sasuke.

"Sasuke is the strongest between the two of you and so he will be the King. You will be the Queen." I told her.

"That doesn't make sense!" she complained.

I rolled my eyes, "The last defense is the king itself. In battle chess, the King can only be taken by battle!"

"OH!" Sakura's eyes grew wider in understanding.

I knelt down and told them who I wanted to pick and why. They agreed with everything and Sakura showed me a little more respect for my intelligence.

Taking my place beside Shikamaru, our teammates took their places on the large board that Kakashi had rigged up. Ino was their king and Chouji the Queen.

Kakashi flipped a coin and Shikamaru went first. "It's troublesome but I have to pick Temari first."

I leaned into him and whispered, "Is that so she doesn't kill you later?"

'Hn!" he sighed.

I straitened up, "I pick Hinata." I could see Hinata's flush from here and Kakashi jumped slightly. No doubt he was looking underneath the wrong underneath.

Shika sighed again, "Dad, I guess I have to choose you… Shikaku Nara."

I smiled, "Neji."

"Choza Akimichi" Choji's dad was an interesting choice. Shika seemed to be picking the people most likely to be hurt by not being on his team. I could tell however that he was really trying to pick teammates that are used to working together and whose styles are complementary.

"Kakashi." I called out.

"What?" yelled Kiba. "You would pick that lazy guy over me! And besides, you can't pick him! He is running this."

Kakashi smirked at the loudmouth, "I only thought of this whole thing. Hokage-Sama will be the judge and referee. I can definitely be a game piece."

Shika pulled his eyes away from the clouds long enough to pick another person, "Hiashi Hyuga."

Kiba got his hackles up again and Hinata nearly fainted to hear that her father was on the opposing team. I understood though. They all thought it to be unfair that the leader of the strongest clan was in our little game but all of the other fathers and even Kiba's sister were in the game too. Each team had sixteen people on it and they had to come from somewhere. Not to mention that I thought he wanted to be a part of this to get a look at his little Hyuga kids in action.

Wanting to get things moving again I picked my next person, "Inoichi Yamanaka."

"Hey!" Screamed Ino. "That's my Dad!"

"Well now he's my bishop." I countered.

Hanabi Hyuga, Kiba and Hana Inuzuka where Shika's next three choices; while mine where Raido, Iruka, and Shizune. Shika then chose Asuma, Kurenai, and Genma while I took Kotetsu, Izumo, and Shino's dad Shibi Aburame. Shino, Lee and Tenten joined the opposition and Gai, Konohamaru, and Moegi joined my side.

At last, Shika chose Udon for his final piece and I was left looking at Ebisu standing all alone on the field. I wish I could have read his mind when even the children got picked before him. I opened my mouth for my final selection, "Akamaru!"

Kiba nearly popped a lung with his hollering. He kept going on about how they were a team and all of their best techniques were as a pair.

I let him bluster for a while and then had my say calmly, "You are a great team but you are still two individuals. Only one person to a spot on the board was part of the rules and you need to learn how to fight on your own because there will be times when you get separated or one of you gets hurt."

Kiba still wanted to argue but I cut him off. "Not to mention that the fights are limited, controlled and short. Are you really going to say that you can't stand on your own for such a short time?"

Pissed off, Kiba had no choice but to shut up and take it. Tsunade laughed, "All right, let the game begin! As the teams stand, it is…

Naruto's team:

King: Sasuke Queen: Sakura Bishop 1:Kakashi Bishop 2:Inoichi Yamanaka

Knight 1:Hinata Knight 2:Neji Rook 1: Raido Rook 2: Iruka

Pawns: Gie, Konohamaru, Kotetsu, Izumo, Moegi, Shizune, Shibi Aburame, and Akamaru

Shikamaru's team:

King: Ino Queen: Choji Bishop 1: Shikaku Bishop 2: Hana

Nara Inuzuka

Knight 1: Choza Knight 2: Kiba Rook 1: Hiashi Hyuga Rook 2: Hanabi Hyuga

Akimichi

Pawns: Shino, Lee, Asuma, Kurenai, Tenten, Tamari, Genma, Udon

Shikamaru's team won the coin toss for the selections so Naruto got to play the white side and moved first.

"Shizune, move forward two paces."

Jumping slightly, she scurried into place.

Shika, nudged by Hanabi, was standing by him in her end square. "Your move lazy!" She growled."

He opened his right eye and closed it saying, "Kiba, forward two left one."

"Eh?" Asked the dog boy.

"Don't be troublesome." The lazy Nin sighed. "Don't complain if you didn't pay attention to how the pieces move. Just do as you're told."

Kiba growled and jumped over Lee.

I laughed to myself. "Sakura, diagonal right two steps." Looking unhappy about receiving orders, she gracefully sidestepped twice.

Shika shifted slightly, "Asuma-sensei, one step forward."

Asuma stepped up to the spot beside Kiba and sat down heavily.

'Getting comfy' I thought. "Gai-sensei, two steps forward." I braced myself for the reaction I knew was coming.

"Ash!" Gai literally danced into position and spouted off about my youthfulness.

"Hana-Chan, diagonal left two spaces." Directed Shikamaru.

I analyzed the board, "Raido-sama, forward two."

Eyes still closed, my opponent made his next move, "Ino and Hanabi, take one step toward each other and do-se-do."

Konohamaru had a fit about cheating and moving too many pieces in one turn and so on until the person next to him put a hand over the loud opening he called a mouth. The Hokage stepped forward and explained that the move Shikamaru had made was called castling and that if the bishop and knight between the rook and king where moved then Shika's move was legal.

Several blinks and blank stairs followed this announcement until I made my next move. "Raido, right one step."

Shicka adopted his thinking pose for a moment then straitened back up, " Kiba. Forward one square and two paces right."

Several people became bored with the inaction and one by one they all followed Asuma's lead and plopped down on their squares. This actually helped because now we could see the board more clearly. "Raido, Forward four and attack Tenten."

I did not want Raido to win this battle because I needed my opponent to become overconfident. With this in mind, I restricted his moves in such a way that he could only deflect her weaponry and evade. It was child's play for her to corner him with her weapons and force him into a position to give up. I made a mental note to apologize later and explain myself.

Tenten sauntered back into position appearing very happy with herself.

Shikamaru was looking at me funny before he ordered Choji to step diagonally right two places. I had Izumo step one space forward before Shika retaliated with Lee stepping forward two spaces.

I swallowed hard before entering the next piece into play. "Kakashi-sensei, diagonal right two."

I hated having to play his piece but couldn't dwell on it long with Shikamaru moving Choji to stand before Ino. "Building a barricade?" I asked.

"Troublesome." Was his short response.

Kakashi-sensei stepped up to fight Kurenai-sama.

Kurenai and Kakashi fought long and hard. Her ability to change what you see was not as effective against the Sharingan as she might have liked but it allowed her to finally get her hands on his book and threaten to shred it with her kunai. In a panic, Kakashi promised her anything she could possibly want if only his book would be spared. The rest of the assembled people where disgusted with his attachment to the perverted book but I was incredibly touched that my little gift meant so much to him.

I was definitely going to have to reward the dear man handsomely later.

Kurenai slipped back into position and Kakashi slumped over to join Raido on the sidelines.

Shika moved the game forward by having Lee fight Gai-sensei, which shocked everyone not the least of which being the two combatants. I will spare you the details as a lot of posturing and beautiful boasting ensued. Anyone else would have given in just to end the insanity that is Lee and Gai.

Shika was smart enough to have Lee drink sake but after Gai had been pounded into the dirt, the rest of the players had to intervene and restrain the green clothed boy. Unable to coherently proceed both players where removed from game and Lee was tightly restrained with chakra ropes.

The Hokage finally stopped laughing and declared the square forfeited and ordered me to make my next move. I wanted my opponent to think that I was being brash and stupid with my moves so I allowed Kotetsu, Izumo, and Moegi to lose in battle.

Moegi's battle, I have to say, was the funniest thing that I have ever seen in my life. All Shino had to do was show her the colony of bugs that lived inside of him and she ran screaming for her mother.

While Shika was distracted by my more blatant moves, I had Hinata face off against her father. It appeared to be another sacrifice but I alone knew of her ultimately offensive defense move with which she not only defeated her father but impressed him as well. She created a vibrant sphere of chakra about herself that was impenetrable and would shred anything it touched. Hiashi was sensible enough to admit defeat when all of his attacks where nullified.

Neji was completely mortified when he lost to Konohamaru due to a well-placed prank and a well-done sexy-no-jutsu.

Iruka and Sakura impressed everyone with their skills. Iruka was so adept at the basics that most Ninja leave behind, Choji was overwhelmingly out classed after underestimating the kind teacher.

Sakura on the other hand was a fierce opponent and won her first battle with a strategically placed finger flick. Her new stamina surprised me greatly and I had her clear out all of the pieces that needed elimination.

She even managed to out power Choza Akimichi. Choji's father used the body enlargement jutsu his family is famous for and grew to the size of a giant.

He assumed that he could just squish the little girl but got the surprise of his life when the pink haired female darted out of the way and literally punched the ground out from under him. She then levied a right hook that knocked him out cold.

Poor Choji didn't know whether to laugh or hide when his great big papa got his ass handed to him by Sakura of all people.

In the end, Shikamaru forfeit the game when Ino was matched up against her father. He knew that the poor girl stood no chance against her father in a battle of their sort. Ino had more promise then her father but was not yet there.

Temari let him have it for first making her a pawn and second, allowing the team that she was on to give up without a proper fight. "Troublesome," He groaned while evading her oversized fan.

Emotionally and physically drained, we all bombarded Ichiraku ramen to rehash the game and battled over the comforting dishes.

It became a wonderful party to welcome Sasuke and I home that lasted late into the night. I had the most fun that I could ever remember and it was amusing when we blearily parted ways to find that the sun had risen long ago.


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Train Me!  
Chapter: ten  
Rating: Pg 13 light cursing  
Pairing: Naru/Kaka  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… I just drool over him!  
Summery: Before the final phase of the Chuunin exams, Naruto begs Kakashi for extra training and is denied! Naruto doesn't take it very  
well.  
Beta: aimless38 I couldn't do it without her!!!!  
Sorry it took so long! Happy Holidays!

_Note from Authoress: to eliminate confusion,_

'Naruto was thinking at the time' 

_Naruto is talking to you_

"_Someone said something at the time"_

"Ok Baa-chan, why did you send for us?" I rudely demanded.

I had just entered the temperamental woman's office with the rest of my team and I confess to having been very curious. She normally gave out assignments in the mission room but for some reason, we were summoned here to the Hokage's private office.

Her eyebrow twitched at my less than respectful manners. "I hate to do this so soon after reuniting your team but I need to send Kakashi off on a separate mission." She began.

Hell no!' I thought.

She was studying her papers in an unconcerned manner; "We have received a request for his services at a diplomatic meeting with Grass. He was especially requested. The rest of you will remain here."

Shit!' I finally get to be with him and now they want to separate us.' I silently fumed over the separation and that I couldn't even say goodbye in private! The old hag was sending him off immediately. I  
watched longingly as he dashed from the room, I knew full well that the idiot would probably be reading on some roof for the next hour and I would not be able to go look for him if the old bat had anything to day about it!

"I want the three of you to take guard duty while your sensei is away." We all groaned miserably at the very idea of boring guard duty. On one hand it made sense to have strong ninja on guard duty but on the other hand, "Ni-chan! That would be such a waste of our abilities!" I whined.

Looking exasperated, she opened her mouth to scream at me and was interrupted by the door slamming open and a young woman bursting through. Tsunade's already throbbing forehead vein threatened to explode. "Just what do you think you are doing barging into my office that way?" she bellowed.

The nervous woman paled and she bowed before her superior. "Please forgive me Tsunade-Sama. I have a high priority message from Sand." She rushed forward to hand her scroll to the angry blond.

Tsunade-ni-chan read the letter before rolling it up with a sigh. "Change of plans, Team seven will be going to Sand." Shizune attempted to protest but was silenced by Tsunade. "The Sand was attacked and the Kazekage, Gaara, was abducted by the organization Akatsuki. They are requesting our aid as well as any knowledge that we have on the organization. The three of you are to leave immediately."

Shizune and Iruka, who were both present, protested loudly only to be cut off by their leader, "I have no choice. This is an emergency and I know that they can handle this!" She growled. Nii-san could be scary when her judgment was questioned and both timid people cowered before her.

I felt Sakura hesitate beside me but could not allow her to hinder our speed with useless questions and insecurities. "Lets go!" I growled out. She turned to me in exasperation thinking that I only cared about an exciting mission. She was about to learn otherwise, "I won't let Gaara down Nii-chan.!" I growled out, "I will do everything I possibly can to help my friend or I will never be worthy of the title I seek."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Sakura's jaw drop. On my other side, Sasuke gave me a slight nod to say that he was with me on this. Grabbing the pink haired girl's wrists firmly, we raced to the gates of the village that we had so recently come in through, dragging the konichi behind us and stopping only for supplies.

My mind was a whirlwind of thought while we dashed from branch to branch. Images of what could possibly be happening to my friend swam before my eyes. I tried my best to remain sensible and calm but my emotions have always gotten the better of me and this time was no exception. I pushed my team and myself faster and faster without any conscious thought to do so. I had no idea how fast the pace I had set was until Sakura complained about it.

"Naruto, we may be in a hurry but don't you go and leave your team behind."

"But…" I allowed my anger to show through my voice.

Sasuke jumped in this time, "Don't flare up like that! Didn't Ero- Senin just talk to you about that?"

It was true. As we were walking out of the gate, he came across us and reminded me that I needed to keep my cool or I could get into some serious trouble. He also reminded me that the pricks were also after me as well as Gaara and that I had to be careful not to lose control the Kyuubi through my anger.

No sooner had I calmed myself then Sakura shouted behind me, "Temari-chan!" Sure enough, Temari was walking on the path to sand below us.

We all dropped to the forest path before her and my heart ached with the sad news we were about to deliver.

Sakura stepped forward to speak but Sasuke knew me well enough to put a hand on her shoulder for silence. "Temari-nichan," I shakily began, "I have distressing news." She cocked her head at me. "Your village was attacked and in the act of saving his home from the enemy, Gaara was taken by the Akatsuki." I near whispered.

"GAARA!" She exclaimed. I could see the worry in her eyes clearly.

We spared her a few seconds to comprehend what I had told her before Sasuke stepped up, "We still have two and a half days travel time until we reach the sand." No more words where needed. We all rose back into the trees and this time no one complained for a while about the speed I chose to go.

Trying hard to stay at a steady pace, after a time I couldn't help myself anymore. Against my will, my mind wandered to the few times that I had come across the cloaked bastards that Sasuke's brother was a member of and my feet moved faster.

They had nearly cost me my brother due to one of their wretched members and another former member. They had attacked my home and I three years ago in pursuit of the fox demon. They were now attacking another of my precious people and still wished to harm me. The bastards cared only for ultimate power and they felt that the pain they caused to others is inconsequential!' my mind whirled with these thoughts and my steps started to peel bark off of the branched unlucky enough to be my stepping stones.

Sakura finally got fed up, "Naruto! Didn't I tell you? Don't go too far ahead.."

"I hate them!" I hollered passionately. "I know why they are after Gaara and I! I'm sure you know too Sakura-chan." She had always been very astute and as Tsunade's apprentice I knew that she had to have access to records that were none of her business and therefore irresistible to her. "Inside of me, the Kyuubi is sealed."

I heard Temari's gasp of surprise but the silence from Sakura told me that she had already known, just as I thought. "Gaara and I were born with monsters in our bodies!" I cried, "That's all they think about us and that's what I can't stand! I hate how we are always seen as monsters and that it's the only way they look at us. I hate that they refuse to see us otherwise!" I was screaming at the top of my lungs as a lifetime's worth of suppressed pain leaked out.

My tongue can never remain still once it is set in motion and my words pushed themselves up out of me, "He and I were completely alike. He was left fighting completely on his own."

In my mind's eye, I could see the small child that my friend used to be, all alone. Standing beside him was me, also alone. As time passed, I gained precious people, while he remained all alone and sad.

I could hear the red heads voice ringing clearly in my ears, I was a fragment of the past that they wanted to get rid of. Then why do I exist and continue living? When I was thinking like that, I couldn't find an answer. But while you're alive, you need a reason for your existence. Being unable to find one is as good as being dead!' He had said to me.

"And now, Akatsuki is targeting him, just like with me! What's more, why is he always put in that situation? Only him!? Why is he forced to always be the one to suffer the most?" I turned my head just enough to take in a glimpse of pink hair flying about. "You want me to keep my cool and slow down but that is not something that I can do in this situation. I have to help him because he could have easily been me!"

I had some semblance of love in my life. The only love he ever received was a cover for more hate and deceit. His bastard of an uncle used Gaara's love for him as a weapon.

My emotions gave me an extra burst of speed that my teammates and Temari now matched eagerly. We each put our all into getting to Sand as fast as possible.

Temari took the lead when we reached the edge where the forest met the dessert. She led us through the blazing sun and across the scorching hot sand toward our destination. I was just beginning to gain a little hope when a sandstorm blew in from out of nowhere. I was enraged by the delay to our journey when we were forced to take shelter in a small, protected cave and wait out the storm.

I felt like a caged animal and paced back and forth from one end to the other. "You are not helping Temari-chan with your worry Naruto. Don't you think that she has more cause to be upset then you do?" Sakura demanded.

Looking sheepish I plopped down and tried my best to refrain from running blindly into a disorienting sandstorm. I knew that it would be suicide but my heart was urging my to get there faster! My feet itched to be running again and I exerted all my will power to end my fidgeting.

"Naruto?" I jumped when Tamari suddenly spoke, "Why do you care about Gaara so much? It can't only be that you … bear the same burden… can it?" She appeared nervous but determined.

I thought for a moment about what I wanted to say, "Its partly because we are so much alike but more because he makes me see what my life would have been like without ramen."

Sakura's outburst made my ears ring, "RAMEN?! What the heck do you think you are doing Naruto? She is asking you a serious question and you are a creep for making fun of her when Temari's little brother is in such danger!" No telling how long she would have ranted if Sasuke hadn't taken the prime opportunity to stuff her forehead protector into her wide open mouth.

"Thanks!" I sighed. "Now, as I was saying, Gaara didn't have Ramen (sp) growing up to help him through the hard times. Ramen is very special to me. I remember that the first time I met the Third Hokage, I was about six and some bad people had chased me off of the playground with sticks, rocks and insults. He found me in a dark alley and he patched up my wounds."

"What does any of this have to do with ramen?" asked the pink haired girl with a very dry mouth.

Ignoring her I continued, "When my tears had been dried, he took me to Ichiraku's Ramen. Whenever he or Iruka-sensei wanted to reward me or cheer me up, they would take me to get ramen. When I needed to talk, I would take them. The people who own the place can always be counted on for a smile and some encouragement when I am feeling all alone."

I could see the understanding dawning in Temari's eyes, "I used to have to go to the ramen stand for the feeling of belonging somewhere, now I only have to smell ramen and I feel like I am at home. Gaara never had that feeling and I want to give a little back to the ones who gave that feeling to me by passing it on to someone who needs it even more."

Sakura seemed to be ashamed and Temari was fighting off tears. I had made my point and left myself a bit more open then I had intended to.

Searching for a distraction, I glanced out of the cave's opening and was relieved to see the storm letting up at last. I dashed back out onto the trail determined to make up the time we had lost.

I knew that the rest of my group was wearing down, but I refused to slow any more than absolutely necessary. At long last, the gentle slope of the domed rooftops in sand came into view up ahead. Energized by the end of our mad dash being within sight, my companions found the energy to push a bit more speed into their steps.

The gate guards where overjoyed to see us arrive and rushed us straight into the village. They explained that Kankuro had gone after the men who had taken his brother and had been seriously injured.

Poor Temari lost all color in her face upon hearing that she might lose not only one but both of her brothers this day. Sakura made me proud when she took on a professional air and soothed our worried comrades with her confidence in the abilities Tsunade-sama had beat into her.

We got to the hospital room as fast as we could and stood back while Sakura worked her magic. She looked like a different girl now that she was in her element. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and ruled the hospital room with an iron fist that refused to be questioned or denied.

Her talent and knowledge was astounding. She used a bubble of chakra and some type of liquid to draw out the foul poison that plagued the strong man. Working diligently, she used the advanced technique on each of Kankuro's internal organs until all of the poison that she could find had been removed.

Taking the poison she had extracted, the pink haired girl left to develop an antidote to take care of any remaining taint.

The whole time that our teammate worked, an old hag sat beside me and glared. She seemed to be wary of us for some stupid reason. I finally got tired of her attitude, "Got a problem granny?" I growled.

She smiled a stupid fake smile that I could see right through, "I am not surprised that Konoha sent us a team of inexperienced children but I am surprised that the girl is so competent."

I could feel my blood boiling beneath the surface, "Sasuke" I gestured to my stoic brother, "is the Uchiha prodigy and we were both trained by the legendary Sannin Jiraiya." The creepy old woman's eyes grew round, "Tsunade Sama, also one of the Sannin and the current Hokage of our village, trained Sakura personally. Not to mention that I am the same age as your Kazekage and we were not ordered to come but rather we demanded to come. So, if you aren't going to be helpful, stay out of my way. I won't let some stupid old rivalry from days long past get in the way of helping my friends!"

Her jaw dropped to the ground and I could see that she hadn't expected me to see through her so easily. She gave me a long appraising glance before coming to a decision of some sort. "I will help you pipsqueak. You will certainly need it." She thankfully walked away before I could blow my fuse but good.

I was still a bit steamed when Sakura got back with the antidote. She was administering the dose when I asked an official to take me to the place where Kankuro had fought. "No need." The sick boy coughed. "I tore a scrap of fabric from the bastard."

"Great!" I beamed. "I have a special friend who can track smell." I retrieved the fabric from the broken hand of his puppet and summoned a few special frogs that had been trained in scent tracking. Jiraiya often used them as an advanced warning system when peeping. They could smell an approaching spoiler of fun.

I held the cloth out to them and they all dashed off to find the trail. We were off and running again, getting ready to go within the hour.

I received word that team Gai was on their way and sent Gamachi to meet them and guide them to Gaara directly. Then my teammates, the old lady named Chiro and I bid the siblings goodbye and set out to retrieve their youngest brother.

I would save my friend no matter what. He deserved to be the one with a happy ending for once in his life!

Bottom of Form


	11. Chapter 11

Title: Train Me!  
Chapter: 11  
Rating: Pg 13 light cursing  
Pairing: Naru/Kaka  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… I just drool over him!  
Summery: Before the final phase of the Chuunin exams, Naruto begs  
Kakashi for extra training and is denied! Naruto doesn't take it very  
well.  
Beta: aimless38 I couldn't do it without her!!!!

_Note from Authoress: to eliminate confusion,_

'Naruto was thinking at the time' 

_Naruto is talking to you_

"_Someone said something at the time"_

Sorry it took me so long! Holidays hit me hard and scared away my muse!!! Conciliation prize, all of the angst and love is about to start in the next couple of chapters.

Chapter 11

'This can't be happening!' I fervently thought.

After our break neck race to Suna, and Sakura's miracle work on Kankuro, we pushed ourselves even harder to reach the Akatsuki hideout. Along the way we came across what we assumed was the lost Uchiha… Itachi.

The rage that rolled off of my Ani had me worried that he would fight with his anger and forget about his brain in the process. His Sharingan activated and his aura of hate spiked before dissipating.

"Tech! It's only a double." Sasuke sneered. "The coward didn't even come here himself. He only sent a chakra infused dummy for us to play with." Sasuke made quick work of the imitation and we were on our way again.

When we reached our destination, we found that the robed jerks had put up another roadblock in the form of a stupid seal with special needs!

Neji's team arrived seconds after us and helped us study the stupid thing. It was decided that five interconnected seals had been spread out far and wide, and that they all had to be removed at the same time.

Gai was all set to run off heroically but I placed a hand on his shoulder to stall his departure. "Neji, can you see where the other ones are?" I asked the beautiful boy.

Neji had been looking at me strangely but blinked a few times after I spoke to him and returned to appearing all stoic again. He activated his Bloodline limit then reported the whereabouts of the other slips of paper.

I ignored the green beast's loud declarations behind me and swiftly created five Cage-Bunshens. The two bowl cut boys stopped their chatter instantly and watched my clones dash off. "Oh!" They whispered, having finally realized that we didn't need to weaken our fighting troop if clones that are mentally linked and will disappear if in a trap could be used instead.

A short time after, the clone with us was seen ripping the paper from the rock face and Sakura rushed forward to punch down the wall with her scary strength.

The ruble and dust cleared swiftly to reveal a guy with a strange blond hairdo and a deep voiced creature under a cloak.

Under their dirty asses, was my friend.

'This can't be happening!" I said to myself again. "Gaara! What are you doing there just sleeping like that?" I knew that I sounded like a fool but I couldn't accept the truth that my eyes were telling me. "Stand!" I hollered.

I couldn't help myself, my mouth kept moving while my heart turned a blind eye, "Gaara! Hey, Gaara! You hear me?" I could feel the pitying looks of my team but I shrugged them off. As long as I didn't accept what I already knew to be the truth, then I hadn't failed yet!

I was fighting back tears with all my strength. I had been so worried about Sasuke's attitude in fighting his brother and here I was acting far worse. "Cut it out!" I pleaded with him to prove my eyes wrong.

"Stop it Naruto!" Sasuke said harshly. "You should understand!" He told me.

I knew that he was the one who really understood. This was just Ani's way of bringing me back to earth.

The bastard sitting on the body of a great Kage however did not understand his position well enough to refrain from taunting me. "Yeah, yeah! You do understand. He's been dead for a while now." The blond crowed in delight while slapping Gaara's cheek mockingly.

In my anger, chakra leaked out and set my hair swirling about my head. My heightened senses picked up on their private conversation. "He is definitely the Jinckuuriki." The blond whispered. I realized then that the bastards were not satisfied with one death that day and were actually going to try their luck at me.

Catching Sasuke's eye, I tapped my leg in an old code of ours to relay the message and what I wanted to happen. Just by looking at them I could tell that they where both the self-important types who would rather separate than fight as a team.

I waited for one of them to make a move and I wasn't disappointed.

Knowing the part I had to play to get things to go my way, I strengthened their belief that I was an emotional fool, "Give him back!" I growled out. I even allowed the Kyuubi's power to change my teeth to sharp points and to darken my scars. "Give Gaara back you bastards!" I shouted forcefully and charged.

As planned, Ani blocked my path and appeared to scold me. "Calm down. If you attack without thought, we will be dead. Remember who is in charge of this mission and play your part correctly." He bit out with malice in his voice.

Covertly, I glanced at our pink haired counterpart and saw her confusion. Tilting my head just a tad in her direction, I winked slowly. Her brows shot up and she flipped her hair in acknowledgment of what we were doing. I lowered my head in such a way that I looked like I was hiding behind my hair in anger but was instead using my eyes to show Sakura that she was to stay there and fight with Lady Chyo, Tenten and the Green beasts. A twitch of her shoulder told me she understood.

I focused back on the enemy, confident that my message would be relayed to the others. Using Sasuke's body as a shield, I tapped out my orders directly on Ani's back and even slipped some extra bombs into his pouch. Sasuke had more need for diversionary tactics than I would. I knew that whoever would take Gaara would attempt to eliminate any helpers before facing me directly.

Under the guise of an art discussion, the two before us fought over who would get to be my opponent. We all tensed to see which one would run off with Gaara. Whoever did that would become the opponent for Neji, Ani, and I.

We discovered that the blonds name was Deidara and we already knew that the other one was Lady Chyo's grandson Sasori. Other than that, their conversation only served to annoy and delay.

Getting fed up with operating on their timetable, I decided to force their hands. "You Bastards. Stop screwing with me!" I bellowed. Whipping out a scroll, I released an oversized shuriken and launched it at the puppet wielder Sasori.

Engrossed in his argument, he casually deflected the weapon with the flick of a tail, which had been hidden until then. I took a mental note of it, 'Sharp pointy tail… good to know!'

Sasori never even paused in his argument with Deidara.

'Aw! That's just wrong! I am gay and even I think that a mouth in the palm of your hand that chews on clay is revolting!' I mentally screamed when I saw the abomination spew forth the white substance. The technique of infusing clay with your chakra and creating minions was cool and all but the method left much to be desired! It really grossed me out!

Deidara created a large clay bird that scooped up Gaara and flew away with him. He turned to me and sang out, "Come to me jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi."

Playing up my part, I hollered like a fool and raced from the cave. I made eye contact with Neji on my way past him and the splashes behind me confirmed Sasuke's presence as we ran on the water outside.

The clay happy freak was obviously displeased with my two followers and attempted to slow them down with barrage of clay spiders. I knew that Neji and Sasuke would easily catch up, and that we needed to keep the two fights apart from each other, so I continued to follow Sasori. I was careful to appear clumsy so that he would remain at the pace I wanted so as not to lose his prey.

I could hear the bombs that I had given to my teammate bursting in the distance so I knew that they were on their way. Seconds later I was proven right when both of my dark haired teammates took up flanking positions to me.

I had a plan and I whispered it to the others. Each of them agreed and we spent the next few minutes setting things up as we ran. Finally, I gave the signal to begin.

I sent two clones ahead of our opponent to distract him by leaping up in front of him and throwing a Rasengan at him. Due to our positions, Deidara was forced to dodge to the right of us and Sasuke was waiting to catch him in the Mangekyo Sharingan. Neji took the chance to jump up and slice his katana in an upward swing.

It would have worked but Deidara slipped from his clay bird, breaking eye contact and evading the sword. The only thing we got for our efforts was that Neji managed to sever an arm.

While Deidara fell into the treetops below him, I used Rasengun to sever the head of the bird from its body and four clones to catch the beaked head. Landing on a tree, they instantly started to claw through the clay toward Gaara.

Neji used his eyes to locate the enemy and Sasuke and I came at him from different sides. When my clones reached the redhead through the white clay that bound him I felt their pain and angush so clearly that it caused me to stumble. 'Gaara's really dead!' I final had to admit.

The hurt that I felt filled me up with potent anger and literaly forced the red chakra from me in a burst of energy. I felt my skin erupt into the swirl of power and my body changed form faster then it ever had before.

I was close enough to Deidara at the time, that the arm he had used to throw a weapon with got caught in the blast and was ripped into the opposite direction. Seing a chance, Sasuke relieved him of the use of said arm permanently.

"Ani! Snap out of it!" He demanded of me.

I crumpled to the ground in my effort to suppress the demon within. It absorbed all of my concentration and a great deal of and chakra to force the evil furball back into his waterlogged cage.

I finally came back to myself in time to see the blond evade my teammates and run into the woods. The other members of our respective teams quickly apeared through the underbrush. They had won their battle and now had come to help ours.

We chased down the Akatsuki member only to find him taking a large bite out of the rest of the clay bird from before. "Now I will show you my ultimate art!" He proudly declared. With those words, he swallowed the clay. His body began to puff out in an odd way. He resembled an Akimichi (Choji's clan) that had been stung by a bee.

Neji reactivated his eyes and gasped in surprise. "He is focusing his chakra into one point." He declared. "Hurry up! Get away from him!" Neji shouted in a panic.

When a Hyuuga panics, you know that it is time to haul ass! My clones grabbed Gaara and we all ran as though we had just pulled a prank on Tsunade-baba and broke all her sake bottles in the process.

I could see the giant ball of fire that rose up behind us and I knew that we weren't going to make it. I pushed as much energy into my feet as I could and yet, I still felt helpless to save myself much less my friends. I could just feel the hairs on the nape of my neck begin to singe when it was sudenly gone.

Shocked, I fell to my knees on the forest floor and turned back to see the destruction. Standing there before me was the most beautiful sight of my entire life.

Kakashi stood tall and proud with both eyes trained on me. His red eye was squinted in pain but locked onto me none the less. 'Secrecy be damned!' I rushed into his warm embrace and held on tight.

"Naruto!" He whispered into my ear. "Oh! My Naruto! I thank all the gods there ever were that I got hear on time!" His normaly steady voice trembled with intensity.

He released me and stepped back to look his fill and reassure himself that I had made it through alright.

"How did you get here and what did you do?" I asked, still not believing what had happened.

"I finished my mission and got back home a few hours after Gai's team left. The second I heard what was going on, I sent out my dogs to pick up the scent and ran faster than I have ever run before." He sounded bored and lazy as ever because the others had joined us.

"How did you stop the blast?" Sakura asked.

"The sharingan has the power to suck an object or person into another dimension. I used it to transport the explosion into that other dimension. I only whish that I had gotten the bad guy too but he got away."

Kakashi was in the midst of one of his one-eyed smiles when a wrinkled old foot flew through the air at his head.

I caught the fast moving appendage and gently wrapped my arms around the old bat to restrain her. "I will kill you white wolf!" She hollered. "You stole my son from me and now I will get my revenge." She struggled against my hold.

Kakashi's eye widened considerably and his hand went up to massage the back of his head in embarassment Everyone else stared at her in surprise. "Um…" He hedged, "My father was the white wolf, I am sharingan Kakashi, The Coppy Cat Nin."

She stopped instantly and studied my lover more closely, "Oops, my mistake." She giggled.

I released her to her own devices and walked over to where Gaara had been laid out in the grassy field nearby. I knew that he was gone but still held tight to a small thread of hope. Sakura was a great medi-nin and I hoped that she could find some life in him.

"Sakura-chan?" I whispered to her.

Looking grim, she knelt down to examine him thoroughly. It was already too late. Gaara was gone from this world.

"Sakura-chan?" I begged.

All she could do was stand up and shake her head sadly.

I could literally feel a piece of my heart shatter within me. The tears that I refused to ever shed for myself began to run hotly down my face.

"Why… Why is it always Gaara…" I wept. "Why dose he have to die like this?" I tried to make sense of the senseless. "He's the Kazekage! He just became Kazekage!"

"Easy Uzumaki Naruto." Grumbled Old lady Chyo.

Spinning about on my heel, "SHUT UP!" I screached at her. My voice was gravelly with suppressed emotions, "If you damn sand people hadn't put that monster in him that this never would have happened!" I declared.

"Have you ever thought how Gaara feels?" I demanded.

"What the hell is Jinchuuriki?" my voice softened. I was asking myself more than them at this point. I had a burning desire to make something right that could never be right. "It's just some word made up by some damn self-important bastard!"

My knees wobbled but I forced them to keep me upright. "I went away for three years but returned, still too weak to help my friends!" A river of ters flowed freely down my whiskered face.

I was startled from my sorrow by the old woman who walked past me to kneel beside her Kazekage. She sat in thought a moment before beginning a jutsu.

Sakura stopped had to me from interfering while Gaara became enveloped in bright blue chakra. I tried again to intercede but Sakura stopped me with a hand to my chest. "She will bring him back to life." The girl explained. 'Is that realy possible?' I wondered. "That technique is Chyo-baasama's own special technique."

Watching the old woman struggle, I realised that nothing comes for free. She was willing to swap her life for his, and she didn't have enough power to finish.

I knelt down across from her on the other side of Gaara. "Damn!" She cursed. "I don't have enough chokra… Damn!"

Her eyes widened enormousely when I held out my own hands to her. "Use mine." I offered. "Can you do that Baachan?"

She thought hard and searched my eyes, "Place your hands on top of mine," She rasped.

The blue sphere of power trippled imediately.

A wry smile graced her old face, "In this shinobi world we foolish elders have created…I am happy that someone like you has appeared." She confessed to me. "Every thing I have done has been a mistake… Still.. in the end… It seems I can finally do something right." She sighed. "Sand and Leaf… The future will be different from my time… This mysterious ability of yours to make friends wherever you go will change the world and you will become a Hokage like none other before you!" Her words filled me up from the inside out and began to repair what was broken only a short time before.

"And you Sakura, next time save what is really important to you and not a dying old woman. You are a lot like me and will become a great Kunoichi, even better than your master." She took a deep breath, "Naruto, could you do a favor for an old woman?" I jerked in surprise, "You are the only one who understands Gaara's pain. Gaara understands your pain as well. Plaese help him." She pleaded.

That was one promise that I was only too happy to make!


	12. Chapter 12

Title: Train Me!  
Chapter: 12  
Rating: Pg 13  
Pairing: Naru/Kaka  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… I just drool over him!  
Summery: Before the final phase of the Chuunin exams, Naruto begs  
Kakashi for extra training and is denied! Naruto doesn't take it very  
well.  
Beta: aimless38 I couldn't do it without her!!!!

Authoress Note: In the diary entry, 'N' represents Naruto's answers and 'K' represents Kakashi's answers.

Kakashi reclined back against a comfy tree with a happy grin. The mission 'Save Gaara,' had been completed and he finally had some free time to read while his teammates were with the Kazakage. The book that Naruto had made for him was quickly becoming an addiction. He felt as though each page was a piece of the boy's soul and the silver haired man would spend hours reading one entry in an effort to derive as much meaning and knowledge as he could from it.

He reverently turned a page and found a strange entry.

'I lay here, exhausted from my training, and dream of you each night my love. I find myself wondering where you are and what you are doing. I have so many questions that I want answered. I want to know everything that I can about you and I pray that you have the same desire.

Today, I had to drag Ero-Senin from the tackiest brothel yet! In a desperate attempt to cling to the table, he managed to pilfer an old magazine. I was later tearing it up for fire starter when a questionnaire caught my eye. I decided that it would be fun to do with you so I copied it into the book and I hope that you will not only read my answers but also answer it for me!

1.Would you prefer wearing a school uniform or kitty ears & tail?

'N' I would actually prefer Fox ears and tail thank you very much! On you though.., I would definitely like to see a professor outfit Koi!

'K' _GOD YES!!!!_

2.What is your favorite color and why?

'N' Actually... red! It was the color of my father's yukata and it makes me think of him.

'K' I love the ever changing blue of your eyes. Corny I know but it can't be helped. They are breathtaking!

3.What is your favorite article of clothing?

'N' My old orange jacket. It hid my bruises, kept me warm and reminded me of the kind person who helped me out in a bad time. He was the only villager willing to sell to me at the time and even though it was 'KILL ME!' orange, it was in good shape and served me well.

'K' This might sound sick, but I have the shirt still that I wore the day that my team mate Obito died. It has the blood of my teammates and my sensei on it. Having that tangible part of all of them has been a small comfort over the years and a reminder that they cared enough to bleed for each other and me.

4.Do you smoke?

'N' Hell no! I really didn't want to tell you about this but I promised myself that I would be honest with you. When I was about 7, some villagers broke into my home and roughed me up. I won't go into detail but I will tell you that they thought it was fun to rub lit cigarettes into my arms and chest. Kyuubi healed the scars but to this day, cigarette smoke makes me ill. DON'T TELL Asuma or Shika! I don't want to upset them.

'K' I don't know how to respond to that! I want to find those bastards and make them swallow lit cigarettes! I want to make them feel what they did to a scared little boy!! I want to hold you close and never let any smoke near you again!! It physically hurts to think of you so scared and alone. In answer to the question, I did smoke on a few missions but I never cared for it. Now, I swear to never let another one touch my hand much less my lips again!

5.Favorite alcoholic drink?

'N' Seeing as I am underage, I hope that you won't kill Ero-Sennin when I tell you that he introduced me to warm Sake and then I experimented with it and discovered that a slice of orange in the bottom is heavenly!

'K' I also love some good warm Sake but I have never tried it with orange! I will have to do that with you.

6.How many hours do you sleep on average?

'N' Right now... as many as I can between passing out and the sun rising!

'K' I don't sleep well at night. I have bad dreams and a lot on my mind. I stay up too late and my alarm forces me out of bed at sun up.

7.This is how I relax:

'N' Relax?!? What's that??? Ha Ha! No, seriously, I write to you when I want to unwind or I have a bowl of ramen to remind me of old friends and good times!

'K' I read a good book or I allow Gai to challenge me. When I come back from a bad mission, I love to soak my muscles in the tub with the lights out and listen to music.

8.How old were you when you had your first kiss?

'N' Don't tell my boy friend but my first kiss was on the day I met him! I was angry with Sasuke for being perfect and got on his desk to glare at him. Shika decided to stand up and bumped me into Sasuke, so... my first kiss was an accident with my brother!!!! How sick is my life?!?!?!?!

'K' It was on the day that Obito died. He gave me his Sharingan and I gave him a kiss goodbye. I was about thirteen at the time.

9.Who was it?

'N' Guess I already answered that one huh?

'K' We really are a pair cause I did too!

10.How old were you when you first had sex?

'N' My boyfriend is a prude so a am sorry to say that I have to wait till I am 17! Damnit!

'K' Darn toot'n!!! I am too pure to... ok, so maybe I was sixteen and drunk after a mission but it wasn't with someone twice my age so you still have to wait!!!!!

11.Did you enjoy it?

'N' I better or I will make you redo it till you get it right!

'K' You're trying to kill me aren't you! I was too out of it and upset to remember much more than that I did it. I regret it for that reason alone.

12.What level of school did you complete?

'N' If you don't already know the answer, I am going to be very worried about you!

'K' Ditto!

13. Do you have any supernatural powers or hidden talents?

'N' What the!?!?!?! Ok... I am going to hope and assume that they are talking about Bloodline limits. Cause the only thing that I can think of is my uncanny luck! I figure that the gods gave me such a bum deal in my early life that they are trying to make up for it now to balance things out a bit!

'K' I guess you could say my awesome sex appeal... and my pretty red eye!

14. Favorite Hollywood actor/actress?

'N' Micchii-sama. I am glad that she became my friend.

'K' I like her too. She was a very nice girl.

15. If you could kill one person and get away with it, who would it be?

'N' It's a toss up between Orochimaru and Itachi.

'K' I'll help!

16. Any tattoos?

'N' You know about the seal and whisker marks but you don't know that Sasuke and I trained with a person who is a specialist in chakra infused tattoos. I have the kanji for brother on my upper left shoulder. It stores chakra that can be used to heal me. I also have a yin-yang of two Koi, their eyes are the smaller circles, on the small of my back. The gold one with silver blue eyes is me and the silver blue one with a warm golden black eye is you. It holds the power to help contain the Kyuubi chakra when I get too emotional. I just have to touch it to activate it, but it only reacts to my chakra.

'K' Wow! I really want to see those! I have an Anbu tat on my arm but nothing else. I love the yin-yang though so I might get one if you don't mind!

17.Favorite band/musician?

'N' I love music but don't have enough free time to have a favorite!

'K' I feel the same!

18.Boxers, briefs, or commando?

'N' I used to wear boxers but in recent years, I discovered that I don't want to waste the time to put on, take off or clean underwear so I only wear them to bed when on a mission or a trip with friends.

'K' I am tempted to make you wait to find out but I will tell you that I wear boxer-briefs... in black!

19.Favorite sex position?

'N' GOD YES!!! I want you any way you will let me but in my dreams, I am pounding you hard and long. After all, I do have amazing stamina!

'K' GULP!!! I think that I will have to make you wait and see for yourself!

20.Who do you have a secret crush on?

'N' The only secret about it is that I can't scream to the world about how much I love you!

'K' I love you so much that it scares me late at night when I find myself reaching out for a warm body that has only ever been there once!

Kakashi finished with the last question just in time to look up and see Naruto and the others heading his way. He quickly took the time to ensure that he had finished it properly before tucking it back into the pocket where the book belonged.

He joined them in the final goodbye to Old Lady Chiyo. They later made their way to the front gate where Naruto and Gaara had a sweet goodbye. Kakashi felt a surge of jealousy flare through his gut but pushed it aside with the knowledge that Naruto and Gaara both needed close relationships like this desperately.

The group made its way across the dessert at a pace that was much too slow for the green beast and his equally green apprentice. No one cared though because the race to get there in the first place had been so harrowing that the relaxed return trip was much appreciated by the non-crazy people of the group.

Wanting to get a little time with his young love, Kakashi became very upset when Neji attached himself to the blond like glue. The raven-haired boy kept pace with Naruto and interrogated the young man about everything under the sun. He asked Naruto what his likes and dislikes where and he shamelessly flirted. What was worse was that Naruto answered all of the questions and even appeared pleased that his friend cared enough to learn about him.

Becoming frustrated, Kakashi sought to distract himself with his favorite book only to discover the precious item missing from its spot! Becoming frantic, he searched all of his pockets and his backpack. He was about ready to turn around to retrace his steps for the thing when Naruto called out to him.

"Did you lose something Kakashi-sensei?" He innocently asked.

Kakashi glanced at him and finally located the book. It had a different cover from before but it was definitely his book. The little imp had somehow managed to pilfer the thing off of him at some point! 'He really must be getting good to have pulled that off!' Thought Kakashi. "No, I just remembered where I left it." He answered.

Naruto smiled sweetly and allowed Kakashi to see that he was reading the silver haired mans answers to the questionnaire.

The two exchanged a meaningful glance and almost missed Neji attempting to read over the blonds shoulder. Naruto realized at the last moment and slammed the book shut. It filled Kakashi with happiness that they boy was so protective of their little secret book, but livid when Neji attempted to use the book behind Naruto's back as an excuse to wrap his arms around Kakashi's boyfriend!

Seeing red in a whole new way, Kakashi swooped in to take the book and told Naruto to scout ahead for a campsite. He then sent Neji deep into the woods to hunt for dinner.

Discreetly, he reopened to book and flipped back to the questions. At the bottom he saw that Naruto had left him a new note.

"I look forward to learning your favorite position but more then that, I am counting the seconds till I can hold you again! Once the campsite is set up, I will slip into the woods to set up traps and you can slip off to go to the restroom. I have to hold you soon my love or I just might hug you in front of the rest!"

Kakashi grinned to himself in anticipation of the meeting with his love. He couldn't wait!


End file.
